His Promise to Keep
by AnalogyOftheSky
Summary: "Maybe everything had to end up completely fucked over to properly fall in place." Lucy is finally tired of waiting for her dragon slayer to come around with the intention of starting a romance with her, and decided to move on. An odd request opens up old wounds, and Natsu and Lucy come to surprising realizations about each other. Slight RoLu and eventual NaLu. Rated a high-T.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello everyone! Welcome to my next NaLu story. I'm planning on releasing the first three chapters together, and the remaining chapters will follow some** **days later,** **one by one or together** **.**

 **This fic can be considered as a prequel to my other story, Child's Play, but they're only loosely connected to each other, and as such this will also stand as an independent story. No sweat.**

 **Spoiler alert if you haven't read the manga, and aren't up to date on the anime.**

 **The story is rated a high-T for sexual thoughts and suggestive themes, ye have been warned.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

It was a beautiful winter morning in Magnolia.

The birds were tweeting away in their homes nestled in the arbitrary branches, creating a synchrony of gentle music that was pleasant to every ear it befell. The evergreen trees danced softly under the tranquil wind, their leaves rustling in a crescendo that was diverse one moment to the next; the remaining foliage had lost its vegetation, but all the same stood hauntingly beautiful in their barrenness.

The cackle of children playing their games for a fun pastime brought an easy smile to the watching adults, reminiscing of a childhood long passed. The din of occasional conversation commenting on the beautiful weather and ongoing projects of knitting the variety of woollen cloth items in preparation for Christmas, just added to the cosy, comfortable atmosphere, creating warmth that added to the snug feeling of mittens and stocking hats.

All these appreciable moments that went on in the world outside her window did nothing to assuage the righteous anger of a blonde stellar mage as she stared down seething at her pink haired partner and his exceed fast asleep on the bed.

Her bed.

Lucy Heartfilia grumbled profanities under her breath that would have caused the dirtiest of sailors to blush in embarrassment, wondering when she had gone into such a cavernous sleep so as to not even notice the fire dragon slayer and his cat sneak into her apartment and into the bed. She half-heartedly blamed the cosy winter nights and the feeling of utter satisfaction snuggling into her comforter gave her at the end of long, tiring days in this weather, coaxing her into an unconsciousness so astoundingly deep that she didn't even notice her over-heated body until the sun was shining brightly outside her window.

Over-heated thanks to her furnace of a best friend.

"Natsu, wake up!"

The overgrown man-child didn't even budge a sliver, Happy mumbling quietly for her to keep quiet. Another fuse blown, the blonde mage growled and rashly pulled her comforter off of the slumbering un-invited guests, eliciting a groan from the pinkette.

"Luigi, lemme sleep!"

"It's _Lucy_ , you ass! Now get up, and go home!"

Natsu didn't answer, choosing instead to tumble back to sleep, the blue exceed grumbling about weirdoes before doing the same. Lucy huffed in derision, trying to settle on a course of action she could take to get the two idiots moving; and after a moment of thought, deciding that the oncoming migraine might only get worse with their antics, she suddenly deflated, her anger completely abandoning her. She sighed and shook her head in resignation and begrudging acceptance; such was the frequency with which the situation was repeated that she wondered why she even reacted anymore, it only caused _her_ to suffer!

Besides, it was not worth ruining a perfectly beautiful morning.

Nodding to herself with that observation, she instead walked languidly to her wardrobe, humming a tune known only to her from a past long forgotten, leaving affectionate memories behind. Lucy decided to take a long, overdue, _necessary_ soak in the bath, and finally have the occasion to use the salts she had bought from the sea-side town they had gone to for a mission sometime after the Alvarez attack almost a year back, not having had the opportunity to try them until now.

Ah, Alvarez.

The stellar mage frowned slightly in recollection of the darkest moment in all their lives; with Zeref, the Spriggan Twelve, Acnologia.

And E.N.D.

Etherious Natsu Dragneel, the vilest of the demons that belonged to the Books of Zeref, the dark mage's younger brother who had died before his time, and resurrected as a demon with the sole purpose of bringing an end to his older brother's immortal life.

A purpose, and name, that didn't at all suit the Natsu they all knew and loved.

For most of the encounter, the fire dragon slayer had refused to believe any of the things that Zeref had made clear every time that they had met in battle, instead fighting the dark mage with all his might and to the very limits of his power, in spite of the older man's warning about their lives being connected; if Zeref died, so would Natsu. Happy, having heard and known the fact to be the bitter truth, had tried to stop his father-figure from recklessly attacking the dark mage, and pleaded with him to fall back so that they could think of an alternative plan, where Natsu _didn't_ have to die.

He might have reluctantly agreed, but still hadn't believed any of it to be true.

Until he had seen Lucy lying on the floor in that room where DiMaria had held them, blood marring the majority of her skin not covered by cloth; so lost he was in his rage that he didn't even notice that most of it wasn't hers, but belonged to the time-controlling swordswoman lying in a pool of her own blood in one corner of the rubble, trembling in fear of his wrath she had already been victim to.

That was when he had truly realized the presence of the demon that had laid dormant in him all these years, as well as its potential and power that could mean the end of the dark wizard. And if the vile existence helped him take revenge for the harm bestowed upon his nakama, for Lucy's death, he would gladly turn himself over to his inner demon's control.

And he had almost been on the verge of doing exactly that.

Natsu had confessed to her a week after the war, after things slowly took a turn for the normal, that if Gray hadn't come in his way ready to battle him to death, and Erza hadn't beaten some sense into them, that if _Lucy_ hadn't rushed to him when she did after his encounter with the ice mage with the reassurance that she was _alive_ , he would've ended up losing to E.N.D., becoming E.N.D.

And God knows what damage he would've done then, to the world, and to his nakama.

He had smiled at her then, his eyes still haunted by all that had passed, all that he had learned of his heritage, and told her that he would never be able to repay her for the courage she'd shown in opening and rewriting his book, and giving his existence a new, different, _worthwhile_ meaning. Her being alive and kicking, as well as Igneel's guidance during his unconsciousness, had saved him from literally going over the edge; and her admirable expertise in the written word had then made sure he wouldn't need to be burdened with his dark self any longer, something he was immensely grateful for.

He didn't think he could be any more indebted to her, before she went ahead and saved his ass again during the fight with Acnologia.

Natsu had laughed unreservedly at her red face, an obvious result of his praises and appreciation, before pulling her in a crushing hug that spoke volumes; he was still trembling slightly as his lean arms tightened around her, his breath hitching slightly when she rubbed his back in comfort.

 _"I saw you die again, Luce. I wasn't able to keep my promise."_

Lucy had held onto him tenderly, knowing any reassurances she offered would not help in the slightest; his grief was still profound, his wounds still fresh. It would take some time before he healed emotionally, and Lucy was ready to wait as long as it would take him to recover.

He had grinned widely at her, laughed rambunctiously with his nakama, picked fights with Gray and Gajeel, but deep down she knew he had still hurt, still doubted, still feared that one day he might wake not as Natsu they knew and loved, but as E.N.D.

Despite her reassurances that that wouldn't happen, and even if he did turn to E.N.D., he would never hurt his family and friends as it was ingrained in his genes to protect them, not harm them, Natsu had stopped spending the nights anywhere near her.

Those had been very lonely nights, and she had felt like she'd been abandoned all over again.

Lucy sighed in bliss as she slid into the tub, letting the memories fade to the back of her mind. It didn't matter now anyways; as suddenly as he had stopped, Natsu had begun his bed-crashing tendencies again with such a gusto that for a few months, there hadn't been a single night where he hadn't snuck into her bed, with or without Happy. She had allowed him the privilege for a few weeks after it started, but began protesting avidly when it escalated to the point where he had started crushing her to him with his lean arms around her; Lucy didn't know if that was an unconscious reaction, or sound decision, but all the same knew that it had to stop.

There was only so much a girl could take before she erupted like a waiting volcano and lost all control, jumping the poor man's bones and rocking him into the next century.

She coughed slightly at the thought, dunking her head in the warm water to wash away the errant feelings. Lucy knew she and Natsu were best friends, partners, and obviously something more; but she wanted _him_ to define what that was before she gave in to her growing passion.

Atleast, that had been the plan.

It had been more than a year now since everything was settled, and a few months since she won the reward for Best Writer, as well as his promise of together forever.

She just wasn't sure in what form had he meant the together part; as friends or as lovers?

He hadn't said or _done_ anything to clue her in to a particular answer, and so Lucy had concluded, her heart heavy, that he probably had meant it as partners and best of friends, as nakama.

Lucy had been _nakama-zoned_.

She snorted at her romance-less existence; Levy was expecting a baby with Gajeel, Juvia and Gray had started dating, Mirajane had finally worn down Fried, and was planning her wedding, Elfman and Evergreen were already back from their month long honeymoon; even Lisanna and Bickslow had gone on a date and were planning on doing it again, and Carla had finally accepted Happy's fish. And here she was pining after an impossible love with a reckless dense idiot that probably hadn't even gone through puberty yet.

Lucy sighed in irritation of her own slow love-life, before deciding in a spark of anger that enough is enough. She had done everything she could to gain her partner's attention, short of literally throwing herself at him butt-naked and confessing her undying love, but none of it had worked to even plant a teeny, _tiny_ seed of attraction towards her in his conscious.

She knew a lost battle when she saw one.

Lucy had spent countless sleep-deprived nights with her grief over a lost chance at a happy life with him, and cried herself out of tears for his lack of interest in her in the romantic sense. She didn't want his avid protection and friendly devotion, she wanted his _heart_!

Something he was apparently determined _not_ to give her.

With determination that would put Natsu's recklessness to shame, she rose from the tub and dried herself off with a towel. Hurriedly dressing and pulling her long tresses in a lone pony-tail, she all but wrenched the bathroom door open and walked with sure steps towards the apartment door.

And without a glance back at her sleeping partners, she shut the door and made her way to the guild, seeking the demon matchmaker barmaid of Fairy Tail.


	2. Chapter 2

Mirajane Strauss slowly danced to the music playing away on the gramophone, humming along the soft tune, all the while cleaning the bar counter with a wet cloth. She had been playing a selection of songs since she had arrived at the guild that morning, in order to decide on the ones she liked best; those would then be played at her wedding reception. The ceremony was now an odd month away, and she was fully immersed in preparations, her sister helping her wherever she could. Fried had offered to give her a hand, which she had refused with a sound kiss, telling him to enjoy the last of his days as a bachelor as much as he could; the rune mage had all but run out of the guild, dragging Laxus along, hell-bent on getting one last mission in before he was hitched with Mira. The rest of the Raijin Tribe had only followed their team-mates with an evil grin adorning their faces.

Fried was in for one hell of a bachelor party; Mira felt for her husband-to-be, she really did, but since she was the one who had fed the wicked plans to Ever and Bicks in the first place, she couldn't exactly defend him from them.

Mira greeted the guild members a pleasant morning as they poured in, occasionally taking orders for drinks or food, and smiling serenely at the usual antics of the more loud members. Most of them would soon leave on missions for who knew how long, and given the amount of requests that had been pouring in since all the Alvarez mess had been made public, no one in the guild would go without a job to take. Of course, Mira had all but threatened her nakama about the consequences of not being present on her special day, and they had made sure the date didn't conflict with any of the missions they took.

It was a usual morning at the guild, with tables, chairs, threats, challenges and chatter being thrown around with an enthusiasm that would rival the gusto of a hungry dragon. Albeit the absence of some obviously chaotic members, the other folks more than enough made up for the lack of fire fists and ice kicks, and dancing swords.

Same old, same old.

So, she certainly hadn't been expecting to be blind-sided by a certain stellar mage's odd request when she woke up this fine morning.

"Hey Mira! How are you today? How are the preparations going?"

The silver headed barmaid smiled beatifically at the greeting, "Lucy, good morning! I'm good, and so are the preparations. What has gotten you all excited today? Natsu?" She wiggled her brows suggestively.

Lucy merely rolled her eyes, a light pink dusting her cheeks, "Nope. Actually, there is something I want your help with, though."

Mira's eyes sparkled, the smile giving way to a tell-tale smirk, "Oh? Do tell."

"I want you to set me up with someone."

"And does this 'someone' have a name?"

Lucy shook her head, a shy smile adorning her features, "Not really. I thought you could suggest a name, maybe."

All pleasant expressions and feelings fell off and away from the barmaid as she tilted her head with a frown, "What do you mean? Didn't you mean Natsu-"

Lucy held up a hand to cut off her question, her down-turned eyes and sad smile a righteous blow to Mira's plans, "Um, I'm afraid that ship has sailed, and sunk."

It took a moment for the take-over mage to register the sullen statement, the words of protest on the tip of her tongue, but she reined them in. This wasn't like the other times when Lucy had denied Mira's assurances of Natsu's obvious attraction towards her; this looked like something of an epiphany, however wrong it might have been, and the stellar mage appeared to not only have moved past the apparent lack of his feelings, but was also determined to move on.

Mira slowly moved to the instrument and turned off the music, throwing the wet cloth near the sink. She walked around the bar and sat next to the blonde mage on one of the stools, taking Lucy's hands in hers before addressing her in a grim tone, "What happened? Did he...say something?"

Lucy chuckled mirthlessly, her head hung in defeat, "No, Mira. _That's_ the thing. He hasn't said anything about...us, and it's already been so long...I just...I think I should take the initiative to start a new chapter for myself, you know?"

"Are you going to stop being partners with him?"

"Absolutely not!" The stellar mage answered with a vehement shake of her head, "I would never do that! We are partners for life, no matter what! Just...not in the way I wanted us to be."

Mira nodded her head slowly in understanding, but all the same she didn't want to completely accept the blonde mage's decision, "Lucy, are you absolutely sure he's not interested? I mean, I've seen the signs and..."

"I've seen the signs too Mira, or atleast I thought I did. But I guess I had misinterpreted them. I'm tired, Mira." Lucy sighed forlornly, her eyes tearing a little at the thought of her lost battle with love, "Everyone around me is falling in love and moving forward, while I'm still waiting for something that is never going to come true. And it's not like I haven't tried! What more can I do, Mira?"

The silver headed mage sighed in defeat, "I guess you're right. Stupid Natsu! Woe be him for not making a move on you!"

Lucy giggled, "Thanks Mira, for supporting me. But really, it's not his fault. I can't blame him for _not_ having feelings for me, or for _me_ having feelings for him."

"But that's just the thing, Lucy, he does have feeli-"

"Please Mira."

The take-over mage paused in her words, taking in her friend's hopeless eyes and the despondent set of her mouth, "Alright, I'll stop with that."

Lucy responded with a small grateful smile, before clearing her throat as a sign of changing subjects, "So, have anyone on your mind for me?"

Mira hummed in thought, "Well, this is a bit sudden. I mean, I was so sure of my ships and since almost all of them came true...To tell you the truth, I didn't really care to pair you up with anyone other than...So, give me some time?"

Lucy laughed softly before nodding, "That's fine! But I hope I'm not interfering with your wedding preparations!"

Mira shook her head with a chuckle, "Not at all. As it is, Lisanna has been bugging me to involve her more in the planning, especially since Bicks left on a mission two days ago. I guess I'll just have to use her more."

Lucy nodded in acceptance, and watched as the barmaid stood up and trudged around the bar, taking her place behind the counter, "So, in the meantime, care for a drink?"

Lucy smiled gratefully, "How about a Mango milk-shake?"

Mira arched a brow, "No strawberry today?"

The stellar mage shrugged, "Well, a new chapter, a new drink, you know."

Mira giggled, "Okay! One Mango milk-shake coming right up!"

* * *

It was an hour later that Master Makarov came searching for her at the bar.

"Hey Lucy! How are you doing, child?"

Lucy turned to greet the old man with a smile, "Master! Good morning! I'm doing fine."

Makarov grinned, "Good good. Say, can you come with me for a moment? I have a request."

The stellar mage's eyes widened in question, but nodded in acceptance before standing up and following the master, waving a goodbye at the barmaid. Makarov walked quite quickly for a man of his stature and age, crossing the guild hall and approaching the stairs that led to the floors above. They climbed the steps in comfortable silence, reaching the first and then the second landing in little time. Lucy looked down at the slowly emptying guild hall and smiled; her family, her nakama were all very busy with the increased work-load, and barely a day went by after returning from one mission before they would have to leave for the next. Even Levy-chan was currently on a job with Team Shadow Gear and Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer rarely leaving her side now-a-days given her state.

Levy was only two months into her pregnancy and already Gajeel had turned into the overprotective and overbearing boyfriend; he had all but barred her from taking on missions, until she had put her foot down and told him to control his instincts or spend the rest of the pregnancy on her couch. Suffice to say, the iron dragon slayer had complied, grumbling complaints here and there, but all the same he had reined in his Papa Bear conduct. Not to mention, he had proposed the moment she'd told him she's pregnant, but the script mage had shot him down, much to his dismay. She'd reassured him that it wasn't because she didn't love him, but because she didn't want to be the clichéd and tragic woman who only got hitched cos of the bun in the oven.

Of course, Gajeel had moped for days, and afterwards with a stern determination, had told her that they _will_ marry after the kid was born.

Levy had only happily hugged him in response.

"Ah! Here we are." Master's voice brought her out of her reverie, and she watched as he unlocked his office door and stepped in, holding it open for her to enter. She smiled at him in gratitude and made her made her way inside the small room, stopping to admire the fascinatingly octogenarian decor and the haphazard collection of papers and books marring every surface available. The single window overlooking the guild pool was bordered by a faded grey curtain, covered in places with drawings that were obviously the handiwork of a child.

"The brats loved to sneak into my office and leave a victory mark." Makarov said in explanation as he followed her line of sight, "Well, Natsu and Gray got the most of it, though."

Lucy giggled, settling in the cushioned chair facing his table, "I can picture that. It's obvious they both made it a challenge between them."

The master nodded, "You got it. It caused quite a havoc too, since they used to _sneak_ in after-hours, and tripped every alarm I would've set in place. My poor legs suffered for the marathons I had to run to catch the culprits, only to discover these two gaggling away as they ruined my curtains!"

Lucy laughed openly now, wiping away a few mirthful tears, "Oh my Mavis! That is _so_ them! _Trying_ to sneak in and failing miserably!"

Makarov chuckled, "Indeed." He gazed affectionately at the curtains as he gently caressed the material, "I didn't have the heart to change them even with the guild being rebuild again and again. I found a place for them wherever my office was."

Lucy smiled at his words, "I can imagine why."

Makarov nodded, then sighed; he cleared his throat as he settled in his chair, turning now solemn eyes towards her, causing Lucy to turn her attention to his expression, "Now, about why I called you here."

The stellar mage nodded slowly as a sign for him to go on, "I received a transmission from Sabertooth this morning, or rather, from their master."

Lucy tilted her head in thought, a frown marring her face, "Sabertooth's master? You mean..."

"Sting Eucliffe, the white dragon slayer."

The blonde mage nodded in recognition, "I know Stin-, I mean Master Sting. What does he want with me?"

Makarov shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes avoiding hers in deliberation, "Well, ah...It's about Rogue."

Lucy blinked, her question caught in her throat in surprise. In all the time they had collaborated with the other guild, she hadn't had even a single conversation with the shadow dragon slayer; and now that she thought about it, she wondered why it was so. Even when Team Natsu had teamed up with the Twin Dragon Slayers during the floating island incident, she and Rogue had not talked with each other at all, including while discussing strategy. Hell, they'd visited Sabertooth before that for their exchange student program, and they had barely looked at each other, let alone acknowledge each other's presence. She knew Rogue was a good person, even an interesting one as was clear from his interactions with his guild master as well as his exceed, and Lucy tried to remember if there was any particular reason they hadn't established a rapport yet.

Well, other than that whole mess with Future Rogue, that is.

But even Lucy knew not to blame Rogue for the actions of someone that was clearly a different person, no matter their shared names and powers. And even Natsu had said that the Rogue of this timeline was not a bad person, atleast not yet, and if they made sure that the event that triggered the change didn't come to pass, Rogue would remain as he is, a genuinely good guy who was sometimes misunderstood in his naivety.

Well, according to Yukino's observations, at least.

As far as she knew, that particular turn-over point had already long passed, and given that the shadow dragon slayer hadn't gone bat-crazy and tried to off her, she had no reason to be wary of him.

"What's on your mind, child?"

Lucy leaned back in her seat, thinking on how to word her answer, "Nothing much...Just...It's a rare thing for Master Sting to send a direct request for me, especially involving Rogue. In fact, this may be the first time ever."

Master Makarov nodded, "It's true. And the request is for you because...it involves you directly."

"Is it regarding a mission?"

The master shook his head, "No. His request is..rather odd, but all the same, I think it would be in good faith if you accepted it."

"Oh? What is it?"

"He wants you to meet Rogue, and hear him out."

Lucy again paused in mild shock, turning over the request in her head until it slowly sunk in. It was indeed a peculiar thing to ask for, and Lucy wondered what the need was for going to such lengths of making it a formal request to their guild master. Sting and Rogue could've just casually visited the guild and talked to her about whatever it was they wanted to say. It wasn't like they were unwelcome here; on the contrary, with Alvarez war and the recent partnerships for the more difficult S-class missions, the Sabertooth members were now considered as important friends of Fairy Tail.

She conveyed the same to her master, who took some time considering her words before responding, "I suppose you know that I'm aware of the events that transpired towards the end of Grand Magical Games, particularly those involving yours and Rogue's future selves."

Lucy nodded sharply, "Yes, Natsu and I informed you about it."

"Then you should be aware that as one of my duties as your guild master, I had to impart the complete knowledge of the events to Sabertooth's master, Sting. Not only was it necessary for better guild relations, but also to make sure he stayed on the lookout for any...signs that Rogue was changing into the Future Rogue you encountered."

Lucy again nodded, this time with a bit of hesitance, "I understand. That was a good thought."

"But somehow, recently, it seems..." Makarov trailed off, leaning back on his chair with an apologetic look sent her way, "It seems Rogue found out about what his...counterpart had done during those trying times, especially...how your future self was killed."

Lucy's breath hitched and she sat up in her seat, "But..But that's...We had decided not to burden Rogue with those things, since it was obvious how very different he is from Future Rogue. And we... _I_ didn't want to make him feel...responsible and guilty towards me!"

Makarov sighed heavily, "I know, child. And I'd explicitly conveyed the same to Sting." He shook his head despondently, "But Sting informs me that some time back, he and their stellar mage were talking about it, and Rogue overheard them."

Lucy groaned in derision of the dim, careless white dragon slayer, "Sting's an idiot! What was the need to talk about events that happened _years_ ago?"

Makarov snorted, "Apparently, they do it at every six-monthly meeting to compare notes on any changes they might have noticed in Rogue's behaviour."

Lucy rolled her eyes at their sheer stupidity, "Rogue is a _shadow_ demon slayer. Didn't they ever think that one day he might get curious or just happen upon them and overhear, all the while they wouldn't even notice his presence! How _thick_ can they get?"

Makarov arched a questioning brow at her accusing outburst, "You seem quite offended by their mistake."

The stellar mage took a deep breath before responding, "I just...Future Rogue had done so many bad things, _horrible_ things even, and for Rogue to find out about them when he absolutely isn't to be blamed...I'm just afraid it might affect him in a negative manner."

"You're afraid it could trigger his change to Future Rogue."

"Maybe, maybe not. But if it does..."

Makarov nodded, very much aware of the devastation that would follow, "Which is why I think you should accept the request to chat with him. Of all the things Future Rogue did, killing your future self was the worst action he took. So, I think it's you that should have the long overdue talk with him and...sort this out. It could mean some peace of mind for him, and some closure for both of you."

Lucy nodded slowly, already feeling the weight of the request and the future that it could entail.


	3. Chapter 3

"Luuuushiiiiiiii!"

Lucy snapped out of her thoughts as a blue fur-ball crashed into her, his tiny hands clutching her tightly. She giggled and wrapped her arms around the exceed, "Heya Happy!"

"Where did you goooo?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at the dramatic bird-cat, "Geez Happy, I only came to the guild. Stop fussing!"

"Yo Luce! Where've you been?" Natsu greeted her from the bar as she sauntered up to it, Happy still stuck to her, his face buried in her bosom, "We woke up this morning and you're gone."

The stellar mage huffed, flicking her blonde hair behind her, "Well, thanks to _someone_ , I woke up early drenched in sweat and hotter than I ever want to be. So I took a bath and started my day."

Natsu snorted, "Well I've told you repeatedly since I started sleepin' over that you need to buy an air conditioner for your place-"

Lucy marched up to his side and whacked him on his thick head, "Idiot! It's your fault I get so hot! You're like a freaking furnace! No, you're worse than that! You're like a bloody boiler!"

Gray suddenly laughed from his place at the other end of the bar, "Oh God! Do you two even _hear_ the things that come out of your mouth? Especially you, Lucy!"

The blonde mage frowned as she thought over her words from before, and as awareness dawned, ended up with red cheeks and ears. Natsu noticed her reaction and grinned, wiggling his brows suggestively, "Luigi with her mind in the gutter!"

He was rewarded with another smack to the head, "Shut it, dork! And you, Gray, mind your own damn business!"

The ice-make mage smirked widely, "Luigi with her mind in the gut-"

"Gray-sama, you mustn't tease Lucy-san in such a way! It's unbecoming of a gentleman!" Juvia admonished, walking up to him with her hands on her hips, "You should never say such things to a Lady!"

Now that they were together, Juvia had slowly grown out of her blatant and blind appreciation of the ice mage, and had instead started to point out to him both his deliberate and unconscious blunders regarding his behaviour towards others. Of course, she still loved him dearly; she just reasoned that if he were to be a good father, he would first have to learn to be a good man.

Her words had elicited a panicked reaction from the ice mage, who'd jumped to the conclusion that his girlfriend was pregnant.

At which point, she had not-so-subtly reminded him that they had yet to do the _thing_ that could make her pregnant in the first place, much to the horror of those listening in, meaning the whole guild.

Even so, Gray had taken her words to heart, and deciding she was right, had let her reform him, as he put it.

Not change him, just tighten a few loose screws here and there.

"Sorry love." Gray apologized, his eyes roving lovingly over the water mage before addressing Lucy, "And sorry Luce! I guess I could've worded that more...properly."

Lucy grinned at a beaming Juvia, "You have him wrapped around your little finger, Juv! Way to go, girl!"

The water mage giggled as she placed a shy hand on her now scowling lover's arm, "Juvia thinks so too!"

"Heh, Icicle is all properly whipped! Who would've guessed?" Natsu grinned widely at the deeply irritated ice mage, "Whapishhhh!"

"You wanna fight, flame brains!?"

"Bring it on, ice dick!"

"I ain't afraid of you-"

"Gray-sama!"

"Juvia, come on! It's just a normal thing with us!"

"Yeah, Juvia, and don't worry, I won't beat up your boyfriend that badly."

"Why you-"

Juvia grabbed his arm as he readied himself to punch the smirking fire dragon slayer, "Gray-sama, you must resist. You can't give into such obvious provocations!"

"But Juvia!"

The water mage refused to hear any of it, instead pulling the half-heartedly struggling Gray away from the bar and towards the mission board, hoping some job might catch his attention and effectively distract him. He and Juvia had recently been going on many missions together, and Juvia had started joining Team Natsu on jobs as well. Lucy loved the arrangement, since it gave her someone relatively normal to talk to during the long travels.

"Whipped indeed."

Lucy flicked her partner's forehead, "Quiet, Natsu! Stop trying to pick fights."

The pinkette snickered, his onyx eyes burning with mischief, "Geez Luigi! You're such a party-pooper!"

The stellar mage only rolled her eyes at his teasing, refusing to dignify his statement with an answer. Instead she dropped on one of the stools and sighed, gently picking the now snoozing Happy away from her chest.

"Wow. He fell asleep just like that?" She asked surprised, placing the exceed in her lap, watching him affectionately as he nuzzled into her.

"Well, he hasn't been sleepin' well for the past few days, so he's just tired."

"Why? What's bothering him?"

The fire dragon slayer took a sip of his coconut smoothie before answering, "I think he's worried over his first date with Carla."

Lucy chuckled, her hand distractedly scratching below the exceed's ear, making him purr in his sleep, "Silly Happy! He only has to be himself, and it'll be just fine."

Natsu gave her a toothy grin, "You said it!"

They fell into a comfortable silence, as Natsu finished his drink and Lucy disappeared in her thoughts as she stroked Happy in her lap. Master Makarov had informed her that the Twin Dragon Slayers would be arriving at the guild in a week, so she had that long to prepare herself, as well as think about what she would say to Rogue. She was well aware of the fact that it'd be a bit awkward between them, given how they had never really held a conversation before, and Lucy wondered where exactly would be a great place for the encounter to go down. The guild was obviously out of the question, too many eavesdropping ears and prying eyes; her apartment was another no, that would venture into too personal a territory and it would only serve to make them both uncomfortable. The master had left the decision up to her, and she had seven days to decide on it.

From what little Yukino had told her about Rogue, since she tended to have a penchant to ramble on about Sting, the shadow dragon slayer was their quietest guild member, choosing to ignore the chaos than be a part of it. He was also a bit on the naive side, which Lucy somehow found a bit endearing, and he also had a major weakness for transportation, as was common with dragon slayers, and chocolate.

Lucy perked up as that thought brought about an idea that could work well. She and Rogue could have the dreaded talk at a cafe, surrounded by cakes and caffeine, and chocolates, which would obviously help make the situation a bit bearable, if not completely relaxing. And it wouldn't be too personal either; cafes were public places after all. She wondered which cafe would be best, the deciding criteria being which sold the best chocolate confectionaries, and came to the conclusion that maybe she should ask Mira or Lisanna about it.

Or Levy, if she returned in time.

"Luce! Hey, Lucy! Where've you gone?" Natsu waved his hand in front of her, his brows crumpled with a hint of annoyance, and mouth puckered in a slight frown. She snapped out of her thoughts with a jolt.

"Hu..Huh? Oh, sorry Natsu. Just thinking."

The pinkette rolled his eyes at her, "Weirdo! I've been calling your name for a while now."

"I'm sorry, I was just too lost in thought I guess." Lucy grinned sheepishly, "So, what's up?"

"I asked, what did Gramps want with you?"

The stellar mage averted her gaze from his intense eyes as she considered her answer, fidgeting nervously under his scrutiny; it's not like the master had told her to keep it a secret and not tell anyone, but given the fact that only a select few members knew about all that had really happened during the Grand Magical Games, Lucy thought it would be in everyone's best interest if she showed caution. She didn't want her family to find out about Future Rogue killing her future self, because she knew that it would undoubtedly cause some sort of discord between the two guilds, and especially put undue pressure and blame on the already distressed shadow dragon slayer.

She didn't want to add to his suffering.

But this was her best friend, her partner, and she couldn't _not_ tell him. Besides, he already knew the situation anyway, having experienced it first-hand, like her.

"You're ignoring me again!"

Lucy shook her head as her eyes focussed on him, "I'm not, it's just...I can't say it here at the guild. Someone might overhear."

Natsu frowned, before looking around him at his nakama, "Why not? It's just our family here!"

"I know, and I'm not saying it in a bad way! It's just...it's about Future Rogue." She whispered quietly.

Understanding dawned upon onyx eyes and he abruptly stood up, taking Happy from her lap and gently placing him on the counter. He then took her hand and pulled her up, addressing the take-over mage as he did so, "Yo Mira! Take care of Happy, will ya?"

The silver headed mage nodded, glancing between them with suspicious eyes, but choosing not to comment. She exchanged a meaningful look with Lucy, who just shook her head, _It's not what you think_.

Mira visibly deflated at that before responding, "That's fine Natsu. I'll just give him fish and tell him you'd something to do."

The fire dragon slayer flashed her a grateful grin, before he and Lucy strode out of the guild.

* * *

"That's why master thinks I should have a talk with Rogue, or more like a heart to heart for both of us."

It was already early evening when her detailed account of Sting's odd request came to a conclusive end. Natsu hummed as he reflected over her words, his head propped up lazily on his hand as he drew unconscious patterns on her dinner table with the other. He had listened quite intently for most part of her explanation, only asking a few questions here and there.

Like why Yukino was telling Lucy about Rogue anyway.

The enquiry had brought about a nervous chuckle, before she had effectively avoided giving him an answer as the tea kettle had chosen that moment to whistle, making her jump. She had then sauntered around preparing their tea and serving it; and before he had the chance to re-visit the query, she dove into her detailed account they'd reached halfway through.

In essence, the question wasn't as much embarrassing as she truly made it out to be, but the fact that it was Natsu who'd asked it, had caused her some unease.

After all, how could she tell the man she loved that Yukino had told her all that in an attempt to set her up with the shadow dragon slayer? Of course, she had politely declined her offer in the same conversation, and the silver headed stellar mage had pouted a little before letting the matter drop.

And then had droned on about Sting, of all people.

If Lucy was being honest with herself, she mostly avoided the somewhat dreaded question because she was anxious about his reaction; what if he said it was a good idea and that she should give it a chance? Lucy knew that would shatter her heart in an instant, despite her decision earlier this morning to shut down those not-so- _friendly_ feelings for her best friend and find someone else to pine over.

That was going _swell_!

Lucy took the opportunity of him being lost in thought to thoroughly check out her partner, _again_. She reasoned with the more sane part of her mind that was screaming at her to find the courage to move on, and also drowning her in profanities at still trying to go pervert on her best friend with just her eyes, that this would be the last time she did it; Mira would have probably found her someone by tomorrow, and she promised herself that she'd atleast give the new fellow a compelling chance before she decided that he wasn't to be rewarded with her perverted self.

She wondered if this imaginary man would be as adorable and drool-worthy as Natsu was, _especially_ when he was thinking. The slight upturn of his faintly chapped lips, that would no doubt feel warm to the touch; those beautiful, haunting onyx orbs in those perfect, slanted eyes that made her quiver every time they landed on her, especially with that look he sometimes got that, _oh_ , just made her want to throw caution to the wind and pull him by his sexy scarf to her waiting bed and have her-

Lucy brought an abrupt halt to her errant fantasies, her grip on the table tightening as she forced her breathing to return to normal. She squirmed slightly in her chair to dissipate the delicious, uncomfortable feeling that had settled deep and low in her stomach, having succeeded in even sending her toes curling at her dirty imagination.

She observed him again, his eyes still absent-mindedly staring at her wall; and _her_ eyes, oftheir _own_ volition, slowly travelled down his beautiful face to that long column of his slender neck, the flesh there just _tempting_ her to put her lips on the perfectly tanned skin and suckle away. She was grateful he'd decided to arrange his scarf a little loosely around his shoulders on this fine day, as it gave her unhindered view of the wonderful appendage, that was obviously going to be the star of her questionable dreams tonight.

Her eyes went further south, and her breathing slightly hitched as they hungrily took in his well muscled torso; Lucy had lost count of how many times she had imagined running her hands up and down that sculpted abdomen and chest, before crushing the hard body to hers to feel them all over her, and the delicious moan it would no doubt elicit from her. And those abs gave way to what could only be the beginning of a perfect dream, when suddenly the eyes were hindered by the waistband of his pants and the mind was left floundering with burning desire to rip them away so that she could continue her journey further down.

Even if the pants stayed in place, the imagination ran wild at the hint of salmon-coloured curls that just sometimes peaked out when he moved the _right_ way, especially during battles and random friendly fights. Not to mention, the delicious sheen of sweat that would slowly make its way down his sculpted abs that made her want to _lick-_

"What'd you say to him?"

Lucy blinked as she was jostled out of her thoughts, her suddenly dry mouth feeling a tad uncomfortable to her. She cleared her throat slightly as she tried to remember his question, "Um..What?"

And then he got _that_ absolutely sinful look in his eyes as he watched her and, _god_ - _dammit_ , she was doomed to a life-time of lusting after her best friend!

She was royally _fucked_.

"What'd you tell Gramps about the request?" He clarified, lean arms now crossed across his hard and hot chest, "What did you decide to do 'bout it?"

Lucy again shifted uncomfortably in her seat, crossing one leg over the other to slightly quench the heat that had taken residence in her core, "Um...I accepted it."

She hadn't expected the open disapproval and angry scowl taking over his handsome face, "What?! Why'd you do that?"

Lucy bristled at his tone, "Why not? Rogue needs my help, and frankly, I think that the talk is long overdue!"

Natsu snorted, "It ain't, Luce. You can just ignore this. He's not some child that needs reassurances. He's a big boy, he'll get over it."

The stellar mage stared at her partner, shocked at his display of blatant and cruel indifference towards his fellow dragon slayer. Natsu had never, _ever_ , shown such derision and dislike towards anyone before, except for their enemies. And she knew that he and Rogue were never that; heck, he had been the one to defend the shadow dragon slayer when all those things went down after the Games, going as far as to make sure Ultear didn't kill the innocent Rogue for his future counterpart's devious actions.

So this sudden revulsion towards the shadow dragon slayer, however trivial, surprised her.

"Natsu, I'm not saying I can imagine what Rogue is feeling, but I _do_ know that he won't just _get over_ it!"

"Not your problem, really."

Lucy gasped in outrage at his utter cruelty, "How _could_ you say that, Natsu? Rogue is our friend! And, _of course_ , it's my problem! Future Rogue had killed my-"

"I'm aware of what that bastard did, Lucy. I don't need another reminder, the nightmares are more than enough."

The stellar mage startled at the sheer pain that dominated over his normally warm timber, her breath catching at the anguish clear in his eyes. Her heart beat deafeningly in her ears as she leaned forward and took one of his fisted hands in her faintly trembling ones, "Natsu...I didn't think...that you...It's been so long."

Natsu huffed, placing his free hand over her Fairy Tail mark, rubbing circles that sent slight shivers down her spine, "It's not something you can easily forget, Luce. I never could imagine a future without you in it, I never had to, and then... _that_ happened. It forced me to _think_ about the possibility of someday, somehow, you...dying...and I guess the horror it brought along just stuck."

Lucy gulped away the tears that threatened to fall over at his confession, but couldn't suppress the mild sniffle that broke through, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

The fire dragon slayer snorted and rolled his eyes, giving one last fleeting stroke over her mark before retracting his hand, "I didn't want you to."

Lucy shook her head, "You should've told me. We could've talked it out and it would've made dealing with the stuff so simple, than to just let it simmer and overflow. Which is exactly why I think it is _necessary_ I have that conversation with Rogue; we _both_ need it!"

Natsu growled, the hand that she was still holding clenched tightly once more, " _No_ , Luce. You're not meeting Rogue. And _that's_ final."

The stellar mage breathed in shakily, dropping his held hand as if he had burned her, " _Why_ the fuck not?"

Natsu arched an brow at her swearing, his mouth set in an irritated frown, "Just cos. And you hold no responsibility towards him whatsoever."

"It doesn't matter! It's the right thing to do!"

" _No._ "

" _Natsu_!" Lucy hissed in anger, glowering at the unreasonable man-child in front of her, "What's the big deal? What's the harm if it helps us _both_?"

"Drop it, Lucy. You ain't doing it, and that's _final_."

The stellar mage shot up, trembling hands placed on defiant set of her hips, "You _ass_! You can't tell me what to do!" She seethed, her eyes holding him in contempt, "Besides, I already agreed. And I'm not going back on my word."

"I can tell Gramps you ain't doing it, cos I don't want you to. Then your word will be all good and safe."

"Stellar mages don't break their promises, Natsu."

"Well, then you should've talked to me first before saying yes!"

"The request was for me! _I_ had to decide what to do, not _you_!"

"We're partners, Lucy. Whatever request is meant for you, it goes for me too!"

Lucy suddenly laughed mirthlessly, her head shaking slightly in ridicule, "Where was this partners shit when you left me alone to go training for a year?"

Anything that he was about to say just flew out the window, his mouth dropping open in shock of her outburst. He slowly stood up, arms crossed again, and levelled her with a careful look, "I had to go away to get stronger, to find a way to defeat Zeref. It was necessary."

"And was it also _necessary_ to leave me behind? Or was that so I wouldn't get in the way?"

The fire dragon slayer scowled at her accusation, taking a firm step towards her, "Luce, what the _hell_? Why the fuck would you think that? Do you have _any_ idea of how much I _missed_ you during that year?"

Lucy again chuckled without humour, ignoring the tears that stung at her eyes every time she thought about his apparent abandonment of her, "Well, _that_ makes me feel so much better! Why wouldn't I think that, Natsu? You just left, with only a bloody letter to inform me on _why_ my best friend had dumped me! Especially when I really needed you." She sniffled as her control over her tears broke, leaving trails of wet along her cheeks, "But you didn't care, no. The _only_ thing on your mind was how you'd to get stronger, better; not some weak-ass stellar mage who couldn't even defeat an enemy without having to sacrifice something important to her."

Natsu took another step towards her, the air between them heating with his anger, " _What_ the hell makes you think I would believe that? And what do you _mean_ about sacrificing something important? Lucy, what aren't you telling me?"

Aquarius was still a taboo topic for her, the thought of her still lost spirit only brought pain and immense guilt with it. She had never really gotten over that particular defeat and broken promise, and had never talked about it to anyone, mainly for the reason that she _knew_ they would sympathise and share in her grief, but never understand.

Not even Natsu, despite of him losing Igneel.

"Nothing. Forget it." Lucy sniffled, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand, before turning watchful eyes towards her partner, "Anyways, as I said, I already accepted the request, so-"

"Don't change the subject, Lucy. You can't just ignore the fact that you dumped all this information on me so suddenly, things that you've _never_ mentioned before, and not even allow me to get a word in!"

Lucy shook her head, "I don't want to hear anything about that, Natsu. It's done and over with, past history. Let's just-"

"It's obviously not past history if you _still_ feel so strongly about it!"

"Natsu, please just...I'm sorry I said anything. So drop it already!"

" _Luce_!" His hands were suddenly on her shoulders, firmly holding her in place, and Lucy wondered when he had gotten so close, "Talk to me!"

The stellar mage frowned faintly, trying to shake his arms off, to no avail, before giving up and plastering a small, pacifying smile on her face, "Natsu, just let it go. I was talking angry, you know how I can get when I'm pissed off." She chuckled nervously, shifting uncomfortably under his sullen gaze, "It's not important."

" _Not important_." He echoed, and his face fell as he took a step back from her, his hands dropping listlessly by his sides, "Not important."

She cleared her throat in discomfort, giving him a small smile as she picked up the empty cups on the table and taking them to the sink, "Yeah. Anyways, as I was saying, I already agreed to the request, so I'm going to do it."

Natsu didn't answer, nor did he greet her a goodbye as he trotted out of her apartment, slamming the door shut behind his brooding figure.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy groaned loudly as she dropped precariously on a stool, and plopped her head down on the bar counter, catching Mirajane's attention.

"What has you down this fine morning?"

Lucy tilted her head up to level the take-over mage with a despondent look, "Everything, Mira. Everything's gone to shit!"

Mira chuckled comfortingly, "Come now, Lucy. It can't be _that_ bad."

So the stellar mage proved to the older woman just how it _could_ be that bad as she gave an account of her huge screw up regarding her best friend, leaving personal matters aside and not going into much detail about the request. Oh, she just couldn't get rid of the image of his forlorn back as he left her apartment yesterday; she'd thought she would try apologizing when he came back in the wee hours of the night to sneak in, only for him to not turn up at all, instead just Happy arrived to hog her bed, without any sound explanation for the absence of his father-figure.

But she'd not lost hope; she'd waited this morning for him to come, reasoning with herself that the night away had been necessary to calm frayed nerves. But after another no show, she'd made herself a lonely breakfast, Happy already having left to go back home, and made her way to the guild in disappointment and immense guilt.

She could have, _should_ have handled the whole bloody thing in a better manner.

Mira sighed at her dilemma, shaking her head at her blunder, "You screwed up, Lucy, but-"

"No Mira, I _fucked_ up!"

"-that doesn't mean the situation is not salvageable. I mean, you both are best friends for Mavis's sake, something like this isn't going to spell the end for you two!"

Lisanna, who'd joined in somewhere in the middle of Lucy's explanation, nodded in agreement, "Yeah, don't worry. Natsu might brood for a while, but he'll come around!"

Lucy whimpered forlornly, their comforting words doing nothing to ease her worries. She jolted a bit when Mira placed a Mango milkshake in front of her, and her eyes tilted up to catch her apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Lucy, that we can't help you more."

The stellar mage sighed, a small reassuring smile directed towards the two take-over mages, "It's not your fault really, and there's nothing you _can_ do."

Lisanna patted her arm in another attempt at reassurance, "But believe me Lucy, Natsu will come around. He isn't one to hold grudges."

Mira nodded in agreement, before suddenly her eyes sparkled and lips smirked with a new-found subject matter, "And there _is_ something _I_ can do to make you feel better! Wanna know what?"

Lucy carefully raised her head up from the counter, exchanging a wary look with an equally confused Lisanna, and picking up her drink, "Um..sure?"

Mira snorted, "You don't sound _sure_. Anyhoo, remember our talk from yesterday?"

Lucy balked visibly, choking on her drink, and Lisanna ran to her side to rub her back comfortingly. The younger silver headed mage frowned up at her still grinning sister, "What about, Mira?"

Lucy hastily raised a hand to stop the barmaid from speaking further, "Mira, I don't think now's a good time to-"

The older take-over mage cut her off with a dismissing wave of her hand, "Please! No good time like the present!" She chuckled at the shocked look on the blonde mage's face, clasping her hands in glee as she proceeded to explain, "Well, you see Lisanna, Lucy here asked me to set her up with someone, and-"

"Wait, what!? What about Nats-"

"AND _I_ have finally found the one worthy of our Star-maiden here!"

Lisanna bristled visibly at being ignored, her eyes flickering from a smiling Mira to an embarrassed Lucy.

"What am I missing here?"

Mira gave her a steady look, ignoring her little sister's scowl, "That's a secret between us two." She replied, pointing between her and the stellar mage, "One that I'll tell you later _if_ Lucy allows!"

The afore-mentioned mage only chuckled uncomfortably, "It's fine, Mira. It's not that much of a secret anyways. I only decided to move on, that's all."

"Move on?" Lisanna echoed questioningly, her scowl deepening, "Why?"

"I'll tell you later, Lis. Now, onto more important matters! As I was saying, I found someone for you, Lucy."

The stellar mage nodded slowly, hesitant to hear the name of the person Mira had decided was destined for her, "And...who is it?"

Mira grinned cheek to cheek as her eyes glinted with absolute victory, "Rogue Cheney!"

Lucy choked again, this time on her own spit, coughing repeatedly to clear her suddenly tight throat, " _WHO?"_

"Rogue Cheney, the shadow dragon slayer of Sabertooth. You know who he is, you did have that mission with their guild a while back. _And_ you must remember him from the Games, right?"

Lucy looked absolutely gobsmacked, her mouth gaped open and eyes widened, staring in shock at the take-over mage; _of course_ she remembered him from the event, the encounter with his future counterpart was one of the memories that still haunted her sometimes when she was feeling especially despondent. Lucy understood that Mira didn't really know the full severity of all her memories of Rogue from the Games, seeing as most of the guild had been kept in the dark about it; but even so, for her to just jump to _him_ of all the people on Earthland was too overwhelming in its hypocrisy.

Mirajane took in her expression with another wide tilt of her lips, "I know, surprising right? I'll admit he wasn't even on my radar till this morning when master mentioned about the Twin Slayers' imminent visit regarding a request, the one you mentioned. And it just _clicked_!" She sighed happily at her self-realised triumph of jump-starting Lucy's love life, "Don't you think its _fate_? I mean, you suddenly decide to move on and the on the same day comes in a special request _just_ for you concerning him! Maybe that's what the request actually means! He's interested in you _that_ way!"

Lucy held herself back from desperately launching into a detailed explanation of just how the demon matchmaker couldn't be more _wrong_ , and instead took a quick sip of her milkshake to avoid saying anything in response. Lisanna rolled her eyes at her sister, "And he's the first one you decided on? Mira, Lucy hardly knows the guy."

"Well, he wasn't exactly the first name I thought of." Mira admitted with her eyes down-turned, "I _had_ considered the members of our guild first, and so I thought Laxus could be a good choice-"

" _Holy hell_! Mira-"

"But, I sort of ship him with Cana, and she's just started showing interest in him..."

"Gildarts vs. Laxus. It could mean the end of Fiore." Lucy mumbled, glancing at the crush-mage, who was for once not on a mission and spending time with his daughter, much to the latter's chargin.

Well, the father-daughter time only entailed him cheering on Cana as she took on both Macao and Wakaba in another drinking challenge.

Lisanna visibly trembled at the thought, "Mira, I believe you should rethink that ship. And besides, I thought _you_ would end up with Laxus."

Mira huffed, placing her hand on her hips, "How crude! For me, Fried is love, Fried is life!"

The two younger mages slowly clapped at her devotion, and Mira only ignored the young mage with a roll of her eyes before continuing, "And then I thought that _maybe_ Jellal would work, but-"

" _MIRA_! Do you want to get me _killed_?" Lucy hissed as she whipped her head around the guild to make sure the re-equip mage wasn't anywhere close enough to overhear them; to her slight relief, Erza was busy devouring a huge slice of strawberry cake near the back of the guild, ignorant to the hustle and bustle around her, "I mean, literally Erza will kill me dead! Sword-dance me to an early grave!"

Lisanna vehemently nodded in agreement, and Mira chuckled, "Which is why I immediately squashed that idea. Besides, my hard work on those two has finally started to pay off, so I'm not going to do anything to ruin that."

It was true, Erza had recently started taking on quite a few missions with Crime Sorciere, the guild founded by Jellal having newly been officiated for their work in eliminating dark guilds and their help during Tartaros and Alvarez; the heavenly body mage had even been pardoned completely for his long past transgressions, much to the Titania's immense relief. And seeing that there was nothing to stop them now from finally moving their relationship forward, Erza had tackled the issue, and Jellal, head on, smoothly ingraining herself into his life through their various missions; and recently, she and Jellal had even started to meet up _outside_ of work.

So that ship had sailed forward and stayed afloat, much to the elation of the rest of Team Natsu, who had been silent witnesses to the tragedy between the two long-suffering mages.

Though Erza had denied them being together, she had also said it would happen soon enough, much to their surprise; the normally reserved scarlet headed mage's comment on her love-life had been an indication of just how long she'd endured constant heart-break and frustration.

Lucy was truly happy for them, and hoped everything went smoothly without any more troubles.

Mira frowned, her head tilting an inch as she continued her tale, "And then I went over _every_ available men in our guild, but all of them were an unsurprising no-no. Then, voila! Master tells me about our soon to be guests, and it got me thinking that maybe I should expand my horizons and look at eligible men outsideof our guild!"

"Well, even Jellal is someone outside of the guild-"

Mira waved a dismissive hand at her sister, "Technicalities. As I was saying, I took the opportunity to look outside the proverbial box, and thankfully I didn't have to look far. Since Sting and Rogue are visiting anyway, I started with them."

"Sting is _not_ an option." Lucy deadpanned.

The take-over mage serenely nodded, "Indeed, especially from the vibe I got from Yukino when I-"

"When did you talk to Yukino?"

Mira huffed at the constant and repeated interruptions to her narration, levelling the stellar mage with a mild glare, "This morning, when I called to go over the arrangements. Anyways, I got the vibe that Yukino had feelings for their guild master, which I suspect are not strictly one-sided, so obviously Sting wasn't available. Besides, he's a little too much like Natsu, and I thought _that_ would've been a major motivation for you to refuse him had he been a valid choice."

Lucy shifted uncomfortably in her seat, avoiding the sympathetic gaze of the Strauss sisters, "Good call, I guess."

"And _then_ I thought, why not Rogue? It's surprising really, that I hadn't considered him for you at all until now. I mean, you two would make an absolutely wonderful match!"

Lisanna arched a brow, "And how did you come to that conclusion? It's not like you know him that well."

Mira hummed, "I don't, or rather, I didn't. But I asked Yukino and she told me every-"

"How _long_ was this conversation, anyway?"

"-thing I needed to know to atleast decide if he was a good choice or not. And he is."

Lucy grimaced, still roiling in shock from his name being suggested for a romantic interlude with her, "And how much exactly did _you_ tell her?"

Mira pursed her lips at the accusatory tone of the question and her eyes narrowed, "I didn't give away anything, Lucy. I casually asked her about Rogue under the pretext of wanting to be better prepared for his arrival and over-night stay, and hoping to make his visit worthwhile! She easily took to the excuse."

Lucy sighed in mild relief, giving the take-over mage a small, placating smile, "Alright. Sorry Mira. I know you'd never talk about such things without permission."

Mira huffed playfully, the lilt of her voice giving away her mischief, "Really, you two! Ye of little faith, you break my poor little heart." She wailed, her hands placed over her chest for the dramatic effect.

Lucy and Lisanna arched a brow at her, suppressing smiles that were threatening to take over their faces. Lisanna then plopped down on a stool next to the stellar mage, crossing her legs and supporting her head on her hand with an elbow balanced on the counter, "Well, do enlighten us why you think these two would make a good pair."

Mira grinned widely, an excited gleam replacing the fake hurt in her eyes, "Oh, wait till you hear all of it! You'll no doubt be convinced when I'm done. First of all-"

"Oi Mira! One Fire Chicken and some fish, please!"

Lucy jumped at hearing his voice for the first time that day, and peeked his way from the corner of her eyes. Natsu stood some distance from the bar, a small smile on his face, with Happy flying above cackling about fishies; Lucy didn't miss the furtive glance he sent her way, but he otherwise didn't acknowledge her presence, and she didn't say anything either, feeling absolutely miserable on being openly ignored by him.

Mira sighed in slight irritation, before smiling at Natsu and nodding, "Coming right up!"

Lisanna glanced between the two best friends and cleared her throat as she turned to face the fire dragon slayer with a grin, "Hey Natsu, hey Happy! Where've you been all morning?"

Happy waved in greeting, flying over to the bar and settling down on the counter in front of Lucy, who automatically patted him. The blue exceed beamed at her, before throwing an annoyed look towards his father-figure, "Nothing much. Natsu slept in."

"Hey Lisanna." Natsu greeted, making no move to come closer to them, "Yeah, I was kinda having a hard time sleepin' yesterday, so..."

Lucy stiffened at his words, before sagging slightly in her seat at the onslaught of sudden grief, her heart pounding away painfully in her chest; she closed her eyes as tears stung at them, gulping down the lump in her throat. Happy frowned at her reaction as he placed a comforting paw over her slightly trembling hands.

Lisanna noticed her response to his words, as well as her old friend's deliberate refusal to acknowledge the stellar mage, "Oh. Okay. Well, see you around!" She hastily ended the conversation, not wanting to put Lucy through any more anguish. She really wanted to whack some sense into the stupid man-child, but instead suppressed the urge and turned towards Lucy and Happy.

Natsu slowly scowled at the obvious and swift dismissal, but didn't comment on it, choosing to turn around and find a seat on one of the empty benches far back. "You coming Happy?" He hollered as he settled down to wait for his food, frowning slightly when the blue exceed languidly flew over, his big eyes shining with concern as they glanced back at their forlorn partner sitting at the bar.

Lucy waved at the exceed with a small smile, only adding to his worry, and turned around again to stare listlessly at the counter, her half-empty milkshake going ignored as she suddenly lost what little appetite she had had before he came over.

"Lucy, you okay?"

The stellar mage took in a shaky breath, giving Lisanna an unconvincing smile, "Yeah. Just a bit...disappointed I guess. I thought he would be... _we_ would be okay by now."

Lisanna nodded in understanding, having no comforting words to offer to the distraught girl. She glanced over her shoulder to where Natsu and Happy were sitting, only to catch the stupid fire dragon slayer watching Lucy with profound longing.

Seriously, these two were so _thick_.

Lisanna arched a brow when Natsu noticed her gaze, his face flushing a colour akin to his hair before he hastily looked away. She rolled her eyes at his antics, but reassured that Natsu was just being his stubborn self and wasn't actually rethinking his entire relationship with Lucy, she relaxed considerably.

When one of them will give in and apologize, all would be fine in the world again.

Mira arrived at that moment with a tray, giving them a fleeting smile as she rushed over to Natsu and Happy with their order, probably in a hurry to resume their discussion. She wondered if it was a good idea considering Lucy's condition at the moment, but didn't comment on it when her sister hurried over to them, slightly breathless.

"Sorry about that. Now, where were we?"

Lisanna carefully watched the stellar mage next to her, letting her choose whether to continue the conversation or not. She was mildly surprised when Lucy raised her head with a determined gleam in her eyes, jaw set in firm resolve. With a sharp nod, she replied, "You were telling us about why you think a romance between I and Rogue would work."

Mira blinked at her, noticing the slightly irate undertone of her voice. She exchanged a quick glance with her sister before a cautious smile covered her face, "Of course. So, do you want to hear it?"

Lucy again nodded brusquely, her arms crossing over her chest in preparedness for whatever analysis the take-over mage threw her way, determined to pay close attention and take note of it all.

And really, _really_ take into consideration both the man involved and the logic on why he would be right for her.

Lisanna sighed as awareness dawned at the stellar mage's sudden avid interest; Natsu apparently distancing himself from her had pushed her reluctance over the proverbial edge, instead leaving behind the determination to see through her resolve of moving on from the fire dragon slayer. Lisanna realized it was the law of cause and effect; Natsu's belligerent anger was forcing her away from him, and the idiot didn't even realize it.

She wondered if she should talk to Natsu, with the solid intent of pointing out to the oblivious slayer how his stubbornness was going to cost him a very precious friendship, which could've easily been more had it not been for his denseness, and his repeated ignorance of Lucy's feelings.

How _stupid_ could he get!

"Alright!" Mira cheered, clasping her hands in glee, "So, I was thinking of making a pros and cons list, you know, to better appreciate my point."

Lucy shrugged, caring little on how it was done as long as it was done quickly, so she could move on already. She was tired of feeling the heavy weight of his anger and her guilt for having caused it, and she needed something, _anything_ to distract her from his sudden revulsion of her. Lucy knew he'd come around, of course he would, but the words they had exchanged yesterday had opened up old wounds as well as ripped them new ones, and so she also knew that it would take them some time to return to their previous degree of trust and comfort in each other.

And given that she couldn't do anything about it, Lucy decided she would take the time to overcome her feelings for her best friend, and if Mira thought Rogue Cheney was the way to do it, she could atleast hear her out and consider him as a potential boyfriend before completely abandoning the whole idea she now realised she'd come up with on just a whim.

Damn her impulsiveness for letting everything go to literal _hell_.

Mira whipped out a magic pen she'd swiped from Reedus and started writing furiously on the counter between them, "Okay, let's see. Pros go here, and cons here." She drew two columns before giving them their respective headings, pausing as she tapped the pen on her chin in thought, "Well, let's do Pros first."

The two younger mages nodded in agreement.

"Okay. So first, to start off simple, Rogue is a very attractive man, and therefore will compliment out Star-maiden's beauty just right."

Lisanna hummed in thought, "A superficial one, but important nonetheless. I mean, think of the utterly cute babies they would make! Blonde haired with red eyes, absolute heart-throbs!"

Lucy gasped scandalously, while Mira nodded enthusiastically, "My point exactly. So this goes first in the pros column." She wrote it down fluidly before grinning at the stellar mage, "Okay, now to the next one. He's smart!"

"Another simple fact, ignorable even. I mean, there are many smart men out there who could keep up with Lucy's brains." Lisanna commented flippantly, watching her sister write it down anyways, "And how is it that important anyway?"

Mira threw a fleeting look her way, a twinkle in her eyes that had her little sister suddenly become wary of where this was headed, "On to the next point, then. Rogue dislikes being part of any sort of commotion, and would rather spend his time away in a quiet corner."

"That's not much, is it?" Lucy noted, a frown marring her features, "I mean, I admit I like to stay away from chaos as far as possible, but I don't exactly like complete quiet, you know! I like talking to my friends. A lot!"

"You didn't let me finish!"

"Oh?"

"He likes to spend his time in a quiet corner, _with a_ _book._ "

"Oh."

Lucy admitted that _that_ was indeed a plus point; there wasn't anyone in the guild and outside it that didn't know of her passionate attraction towards all things literature. Hell, she'd even made a career out of it, and succeeded quite well in that venture. So a man who could appreciate a good book, or rather took the time to even _read_ one, was automatically attractive in her view.

 _Hook_.

The barmaid grinned widely at the tell-tale blush on Lucy's cheeks and the glint in her eyes that foretold her interest, silently applauding herself over her genius in matchmaking, "I see that has gotten your attention. Good." She finished writing the second point with glee before straightening up, "O to the next one then."

She paused for the dramatic effect before continuing, "He's a very good friend to his nakama, and would lay down his life for them, no questions asked."

An uninteresting point from other's point of view, but to the stellar mage, it really mattered that her significant other understood and reciprocated in her need to always be ready to sacrifice whatever was necessary for her family, and she'd proved just how far she was willing to go to do that with...with Aquarius. She needed someone who wouldn't just sympathise with her and offer comforting words, but would actually understand the pain such a sacrifice entails and _appreciate_ her efforts.

No, she wasn't being self-involved; she just needed someone to tell her that she did the right thing, that she had _courage_ to do the right thing. That she wasn't a burden to her team, however weak she may see herself to be.

She just _knew_ Rogue would understand it, understand _her_ and share in her need to be strong and brave. Or atleast unreservedly support her in such endeavours.

After all, he was a burdened soul too, weighed down by the actions of his future self that had almost made him an outlaw, however unjust it would have been.

 _Line_.

Mira somehow knew that the trivial point carried weight for Lucy, and waited for her to gather her thoughts. She exchanged a quick grin with her suddenly cautious sister, languidly writing down the point under the pros column.

Lisanna felt alarm bells go off in her head at Lucy's now peaked interest in the shadow dragon slayer. She hadn't thought the stellar mage would actually begin to find Rogue an acceptable partner for herself, and was now actually worried that the whirlwind romance, if it came to pass, would most definitely last long enough to end in a spectacular wedding.

Natsu was _screwed_!

Lucy slowly blinked as she drifted away from her thoughts, nodding at Mira to continue, suddenly intrigued at how a random proposition was turning out to be a worthwhile suggestion. She hadn't really thought about Rogue that much, nor had she known a great deal about him beyond her encounter with his future counterpart; she'd only half-heartedly listened to Yukino's praises about him, having had no intention at that time to give up on a chance at a lifetime with Natsu.

How silly she'd been.

"Okay, now the last one." Mira hummed, a soft smile on her face as she watched the stellar mage, "He's endlessly kind and caring, incredibly so, not just to his nakama but to everyone who meets him. Always on the ready to give a helping hand, no matter how difficult the request might be, and does so without any expectations in return."

 _Sinker_.

Lisanna glanced nervously at Lucy, who now had a small smile adorning her face as her eyes had softened in contemplation, and said in an anxious tone, "That's it Mira? I mean, those seem like such a _small_ number of positive points!"

Mira frowned at her sister's subtle dissuasion towards Rogue's potential as Lucy's partner, and shook her head, "Well obviously that's not it. But as I mentioned, Rogue is a bit on the quiet side. These are the things that immediately come to open attention, and that is why Yukino was able to observe them in action." With a thoughtful grin, she turned soft eyes towards the stellar mage as she continued, "However, from these few points we can perceptibly conclude that whatever more there is to his personality, it's only going to be all good and worthy!"

Lucy slowly nodded, watching absent-mindedly as Mira wrote down the last point in the pros column, "I do think that Sting might know more about him since he's Rogue's partner, but I couldn't ask Yukino to bring their master over for that conversation! I mean, it would've looked suspicious. And besides, some things have to be left aside for the getting-to-know-you phase, right?"

The stellar mage flushed under Mira's suggestive wriggle of brows, and Lisanna felt panicked when she saw how her interest was now completely genuine, and not forced in order to just overcome lack of attention from Natsu. She noted the red hue of her cheeks, her shy and thoughtful eyes, and the slight upturn of her lips as she softly bit them in bashful comportment, and barely suppressed a groan.

Natsu was in some deep, _deep_ shit.

"So, what do you think, Lucy? Want to give him a chance?"

Lucy was about to say something, but was cut off when Lisanna whipped up her hands in protest, "WAIT! Mira, shouldn't we first consider the cons too? I mean, it's only fair that Lucy know _everything_ there is to know before making a decision, right?"

The elder Strauss now openly glared at her younger sibling, a scowl taking over her face, "Well, if Lucy thinks these points are more than-"

"Really, Mira! It isn't like you to do such things so half-heartedly!"

Mira's scowl deepened, her eyes narrowing at her sister's accusations, "But going over the cons is just a waste of time, since there aren't that much to begin with."

"Well, even the pros aren't that many to begin with!"

"Lisa-"

Lucy suddenly chuckled, the cadence of her voice placating as she addressed the two siblings, "Come on, you two! There's no need to argue over it! Mira, Lisanna is right though. We should atleast see this discussion through to the end properly!"

Lisanna grinned triumphantly at her pouting sister, "Well?"

The barmaid huffed, "Fine! Let's start the cons then!" She glowered at the floating words already written in the pros column, and readied her pen, "Even though he's smart, he's a bit on the naive side."

Lucy had already heard that one, and she remembered how she'd thought that was endearing, but Lisanna thought otherwise, "Well, _that's_ not good, is it? It only means that he isn't much of a romantic, and any such advances towards him might just go unnoticed!" She patted the stellar mage's arm, giving her sister an arched brow, "Come on Mira! Don't you think Lucy deserves a spectacular and passionate romance? Like swept off of her feet, toe curling intense love story to tell the future generations! Would Rogue be able to give her all that?"

Mira blinked, pen poised in air to write, her hesitation clearly an enjoyment to her younger sister, "Um...I don't think...I mean..."

Lucy giggled, sending a reassuring smile towards the barmaid, "It's fine Mira. I think it's a bit...charming. Besides. being naive doesn't mean he wouldn't know how to be romantic!"

Mira squealed in delight, grabbing the stellar mage's hands in hers, "Oh my Lucy! You _are_ interested in him!"

Lucy blushed, her eyes avoiding the jubilant ones of the take-over mage, and with a shy smile she nodded. Mira squealed again, causing Warren and Vijeeter to look her way suspiciously from a nearby table. Lisanna felt her blood run cold, and threw a quick glance over her shoulder at Natsu and Happy still sitting at their table with empty plates, glaring at the fire dragon slayer who was also watching Mira with a small frown on his face. He was far enough that even his dragon ears couldn't pick up their conversation; Lisanna cursed his stubbornness once again.

"Alright! Well let's get a move on then, what's the next one?" Lisanna hastily asked as Mira wrote the con point in _pros_ instead, and frowned, "Why write it there?"

Mira hummed, "Well, Lucy finds it attractive, so it goes here!"

Lisanna gulped, "That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war!" Mira replied with a sing-song tone, "And this might soon turn to love!"

The animal take-over mage visibly bristled, throwing a quick cautious glance towards the stellar mage who was fidgeting in her seat, her cheeks still red, "The next one, Mira."

"Okay okay! The next point isn't that bad really. He has motion sickness."

"That's not a con, it's just a personality trait that's common with all dragon slayers!"

Mira grinned at her sister, "Well, I ran out of cons. I mean, what could really be bad about him, anyway?"

Lucy paused at Mira's words, her mind suddenly reeling back to the exact reason why Rogue was coming to meet her. She'd forgotten in her unexpected and surprising interest in the shadow dragon slayer about the fact that they did share some history together, a history that was now hanging between them like a dreaded double-edged sword.

The mess with Future Rogue was a huge point in the con list, and the one thing that might absolutely crush their chances at being something more than just acquaintances; even a friendship with each other was going to be a difficult start, especially if Rogue felt too reserved towards her given his guilt over his future counterpart's actions.

She couldn't say any of this to the two mages, since it was supposed to be a bit of a secret.

"Really Mira, of course you wouldn't know! And it's not like Yukino would say anything bad about her guild-mate!" Lisanna commented, and rolled her eyes.

"Well, as I said, some things have to be left for really getting to know each other! And it's not like I'm arranging a marriage between them! Lucy and Rogue could give it a try, and if they find they like each other, things can go from there!"

Lucy silently agreed with the observation, knowing that Future Rogue need not stand in their way for longer than was healthy. If they talked it over, and she reassured him of her having moved on from all that had passed, there could be a possibility for them to atleast give dating a valid chance.

"So Lucy, what do you think?"

The stellar mage smiled at Mira, "You nailed it again, Mira. I'll admit he's a good choice, and there might a chance of something with him." The barmaid squealed and jumped in glee, and Lucy raised her hands to placate her, "BUT, you will not do anything more than this. It's me who has to see it forward, and I don't want any interfering from you or anyone else!"

Mira visibly deflated, a pout replacing the wide grin that had taken residence following Lucy's acceptance of her choice, "But...Lucy! I'll make a really good plan and-"

"Mira, please. You have to let me do this my way. I have to be the one to decide the whats and hows and _ifs_ of this set up!"

Mira looked dejectedly at the stellar mage, but seeing Lucy's resolve regarding the matter, as well as the fact that atleast she hadn't rejected Rogue as an option, she reluctantly agreed, "Fine. No interfering."

Lucy smiled broadly at her, and Lisanna frowned openly.

"Thanks Mira!"

The take-over mage sighed, a petulant lilt to her voice, "Cheh! Well, I hope you do it well, Lucy! Keep in mind that it was your decision to move on, and Rogue is a wonderful man to do that with."

Lucy nodded, "I know."

Mira smiled softly at her, "Good! Now, I guess I have guests to prepare for, and less than a week to do it! Care to give me a hand, Lisanna?"

The younger Strauss sibling arched a brow, "Aren't I already helping enough? I mean, I did the entire seating arrangement for the reception last night while you took a nap!"

"For your information, I was not napping, but thinking over potential choices for Lucy's on her request!"

"And this morning, when I went over the flower arrangements, _alone_?"

"Master had called me in to give me the news! Speaking of which, what exactly is the request, Lucy? I mean, I know it's to talk about something with you, but..."

Lucy shook her head, feigning ignorance, "Who knows?"

Lisanna hummed in thought, "Well, you're going to have the conversation here, right?"

"Well, I was thinking of going to a cafe where they sell chocolates, and-"

"Why chocolates in particular?" Mira asked, her head tilting in curiosity.

"Since Rogue likes chocolates, I figured-"

"Where did you learn _that_ fact?"

Lucy suddenly paused, cursing herself for the slip-up, before deciding to reveal the source seeing as Mira was never going to let it go otherwise, "Yukino told me some time back."

"Why?"

"...She thought of setting up I and Rogue."

Mira smirked widely, the curiosity in her eyes replaced by a triumphant glint, "So, there is someone _else_ who has the same idea as me!"

"Had. I shot it down."

"Why?"

Lucy shifted slightly in her seat, her eyes avoiding their inquisitive gaze, "I'd thought things were going to move forward with...Natsu. Or atleast, I had hoped so."

Mira pursed her lips in understanding, and Lisanna looked away. Damn Natsu for his thick-headedness!

"Sorry about that, Lucy."

The stellar mage shook her head, "It's not your fault Mira. It's nobody's, really!"

Lisanna disagreed, it was _Natsu's_ fault!

Mira smiled remorsefully, "Even so, I guess I had some part to play in making you think...that you two had a chance."

Lisanna gasped at her sister in shock. _What_ the hell was she talking about?What did she mean ' _had_ ' a chance? Had Natsu said anything to Lucy, and was that why she was here asking Mira to set her up?

Lucy merely gave her a sullen look, "No Mira. I shouldn't have misunderstood his intentions."

Lisanna felt completely lost with their exchange, but knew better than to ask right now. She instead decided to divert their attention to Lucy's mention of cafés, "Well, if you want I could suggest a few outdoorsy coffee bars and cake shops that sale especially good chocolates."

Lucy smiled at her gratefully, both for her offer as well as changing the subject, "Thanks Lisanna! I was meaning to ask you anyway."

The younger Strauss sibling grinned back, and before listing the names of her favourite cafes in Magnolia, explaining to Lucy where and how to find them, and what they served best.

Neither of them noticed when Natsu left the guild with one last gloomy look at the blonde mage, Happy remaining behind to chat with Carla.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy slowly trudged through the snowy path, making her way to her apartment with a heavy heart.

Winter had officially set in this morning when she had woken up to find a white world below her window, having spent another night alone in her cold apartment; even Happy hadn't showed up yesterday, but she had known that was because of his date with Carla, and that he was going to spend the night with Wendy and Carla when it ended.

She'd hoped atleast her best friend would show up, so that they could make up and talk and laugh about the blue exceed's chosen attire for the date, a very formal suit piece with a fish patterned blazer and pants. Only to be disappointed again.

Of course she knew she was to blame, her errant mouth had run off on it's own, leaving behind a disaster that she'd almost immediately regretted. Perhaps she could've been better off with keeping calm and asking him the reason for his refusal to accept the request; it wasn't like it was the first time she'd been dealing with his stubbornness and irrationality. So why had her own rational side abandoned her, causing her to accuse him of things that weren't actually true?

Aquarius was her own choice, however hard it had been, however agonising the heart-break it had caused. And how could she blame him for not caring about her sacrifice when she herself had kept him in the dark about it? Lucy knew he wouldn't have left for that abrupt journey without her had he known of her pain, or of the fact that master was going to disband Fairy Tail the very next day.

She knew, and yet she'd blown up on him, over him just being his normal inflexible self.

Maybe it was because of her epiphany that morning, or her decision to finally move on, and she'd been so broken-hearted and miserable over it that she'd gone on and screwed things up with her best friend, her partner.

Her Natsu.

How was it any of his fault? How could she expect him to share in her grief, when she hadn't even told him all that had passed? She had refused to tell him even after he had asked her to talk to him about it yesterday, and had instead just shoved him away .

It also wasn't his fault that she was in love with him.

Or that she had decided to give up on him, especially when she hadn't even told him of her feelings.

He didn't ask her to love him; heck he didn't even do anything of the sort that should've been misunderstood, now that she thought back on all their adventures together. It wasn't his fault that his toothy grin did a number on her heart, that his protectiveness towards her had made her think he felt something other than friendship for her. How could she forget that he was caring towards all his nakama? Maybe she was special to him, but that was only because she was his partner, and they had been through so much together.

Lucy decided she would have to apologize, and soon too, because their distance was making her suffer, and she knew it affected him just as much.

But a thought held her back. What if he gave her the cold shoulder even after she tried to make up? What if his anger was too much for them to easily get over it?

What if they could no longer be partners?

A sudden chill that had nothing to do with the weather threatened to take over her, and Lucy pulled her coat tightly around herself, berating herself for having such little faith in him, and their friendship. They were facing a hurdle, like many they had faced before, and even if this time it was a bit serious, she knew they would come out of it without any long-lasting scars.

Or atleast, she hoped so.

Finally realizing she had been standing in front of her apartment building for a while now, she shook herself out of her thoughts and opened the door. She wondered where Natsu would be at this time of the day; she hadn't had the time to visit the guild at all today since she had been on an excursion around Magnolia visiting the cafés that Lisanna had suggested yesterday, deciding to get that chore out of the way as quickly as she could. She'd even bought some signature pastries from the places she'd liked, with the intent of sharing them with Natsu and Happy, when they came around to crash at her place.

Lucy hoped they would do so soon enough, after she hunted down the fire dragon slayer and grovelled at his feet in apology.

She sighed, deciding to go to the guild after dropping off her purchases in the fridge and freshening up. She unlocked the door to her apartment, her mind so lost in preparation of what she was going to say to her best friend, that she didn't notice the man who was already sitting in her kitchen, waiting for her.

"Hey Luce!"

The stellar mage paused in shock, her hand still on the door handle, and her eyes widened as she took stock of her partner sitting at her dinner table, various snacks ripped open around him, with a can of root beer in his hands. He was grinning at her from ear to ear, his steady eyes on her waiting for her to give a reaction to his greeting.

Lucy opened her mouth to reply, say anything really, but no words formed as her mind still struggled to come to terms with Natsu's carefree smile, and his presence in her home. And when it finally did catch up, she blurted out the first thing that her shocked brain supplied.

"I'm sorry!"

Natsu blinked at her, his smile wavering a little. He placed the beer can on the table, before getting up from the chair and walking to her, his eyes unreadable. With a hand on her shoulder, he carefully pulled her in and shut the door behind her.

"What for?"

Lucy gulped as she felt his hand on the small of her back directing her towards the living room, "For...everything!"

"Geez Luce, you're talking like everything bad in the world is your fault."

Natsu gently pushed her down on the soft couch, before sitting down beside her. He leaned back with his arms behind his head, eyes still watching the stellar mage with steady assessment, causing her to squirm slightly in her seat.

"I don't know about the world, but everything bad between us right now is definitely my fault."

Natsu snorted, rolling his onyx eyes at her in disagreement, "Ya, right!"

"It is! I shouldn't have...I mean, what I said, I really didn't mean it and it just came out and-"

The dragon slayer raised his hand up to stop her tirade, a small apologetic smile adorning his unusually serious face, "It's fine, Lucy. I was the one who pushed you too hard."

Lucy took the hand in hers, rubbing small circles at the back of it, "Even so, I shouldn't have said those things."

Natsu squeezed her hands, "I'm sorry."

Lucy shook her head vehemently, "No Natsu. Like I said, it's not your fault! You were just..." She trailed off when she suddenly realized she didn't know the reason behind his behaviour, and turned curious eyes towards him, "Why do you not want me to see Rogue?"

Her quiet question brought a frown to his face, and he slowly extracted his hand from hers, "I told ya, you don't owe him a thing!"

"Please, Natsu."

The fire dragon slayer glanced at the anguished expression on her face, and sighed heavily in defeat, "I just...I don't want you going near him cos...because I saw him kill you and I'm afraid..."

"You're afraid he would do it again?"

Natsu slowly nodded, avoiding her eyes and keeping his face down-turned. Lucy slowly brought her hand up to cup his cheek, gently forcing him to look her way, "Natsu, you know nothing like that is ever going to happen. You said so yourself; you've already made sure that the event which would have triggered his change to Future Rogue never came to pass!"

He leaned his head in her hand, nuzzling the appendage, "Even so, what if there was more than one way that the change could happen? Especially now that he knows about everything he did, what if he has already begun to turn into the future him?"

Lucy pursed her lips at his words, knowing that she herself had thought the same when master had first informed her about Rogue having accidently gained the knowledge of his future self's actions, "I know there's a chance of that, but what if the thing that pushes him over the edge is my avoiding him? If we get this burden out of our way, and he sees that I don't blame him, nor do I hate him for it, he might be saved from any such future awaiting him."

Natsu covered her hand on the cheek with his own and squeezed lightly, before taking her hand and bringing it down to hold in his grip in the space between them. He didn't say anything as he mulled over her reasoning, and Lucy sat there quietly to wait for him to understand and accept it.

He left out a sigh after a few minutes, before a smile broke out on his face as he turned to face her, "I guess you're right. I should atleast give him a chance, before deciding he's a danger to you."

Lucy grinned at him in relief, "Thanks Natsu, for understanding!"

He nodded, and with one last squeeze, released her hand to get up and make his way over to the bag she'd dropped by the door in her shock, "So, what's this?"

The stellar mage giggled as he sniffed at the contents, his eyes widening in wonder as he took in the delicious scent of pastries, "Well, I bought some food back from the cafés I visited today, hoping you and Happy would like them!"

Natsu rushed over to the kitchen cabinets, opening one after the other in search of plates and forks. He hastily took out the needed utensils and placed them on the dining table before emptying the bag carefully on it, "Why were you doing that?"

Lucy sighed and stood up from the couch, walking over to join him as he took out two pieces of butterscotch pastry and put them on the plates, before sliding one plate over to her. She smiled gratefully as she sat down on a chair, "I thought it would be a good idea to stake out the shops to decide where to hold the meeting."

"What meeting?"

"The one between Rogue and I."

The fork that was on its way to his waiting mouth with a big chunk of the delicacy paused in its journey as Natsu turned questioning eyes towards his partner, "Why do that? Just have the talk over at the guild!"

Lucy huffed as she rolled her eyes, "Geez Natsu, use your head a little! I can't talk about that stuff there, you know! Not everyone is aware of the things that happened during the Games!"

His eyes lighted in awareness before he finally ate the waiting morsel, "I guess. But why go to the trouble of finding a good place? You could just choose any of them."

Lucy shook her head, "That wouldn't work! As it is, Rogue will be uneasy with the topic, as will I, so us being atleast comfortable in a good ambience would work to bring the tension down. And since he likes chocolates, I thought-"

"How do _you_ know he likes chocolates?"

Lucy slowly chewed on her pastry to gain time for thinking over an answer. She couldn't just say that Yukino had told her about it during an attempt to set her up with the shadow dragon slayer, not really knowing what his reaction would be. But given his earlier confession regarding his reluctance in letting her meet Rogue, even just to talk about serious things and not for a romantic outing, she knew he'd not readily accept the idea of her being matched up with Rogue.

Lucy was afraid of the moment he would find out about Mira choosing the shadow dragon slayer as her dating partner, as well as her acceptance of the same, but she wanted to avoid that from happening for as long as possible.

"Um...Mira mentioned it yesterday when we were talking."

"And how did she know?"

"She said something about having talked to Yukino to prepare well for the guests."

Natsu frowned, "Why all the formality? They've visited us before without everyone making such a hassle of it."

Lucy hummed, "I guess, but since this time it was an official request, Master Makarov thought preparing a bit before-hand could help the guild to guild interactions."

"We're already good friends with Sabertooth! And seeing that Sting is their master, I don't think we're needed to be 'prepared', as you put it."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, "Well I suppose you're right, given how you and Sting are so similar."

Natsu made a noise of outrage in disagreement, but it lost it's cadence with his mouthful of the pastry. Lucy giggled, waiting for him to swallow the whole thing, and outright laughing when he did it so quickly that he gagged a bit as it went down. He cleared his throat and turned brooding eyes towards her, "You take that back woman!"

"Nope, and you can't deny it either!"

Natsu huffed, "I do deny it!"

"Then you're a liar!"

The fire dragon slayer stuck his tongue out at her petulantly, before going back to his dessert. He swooped the remaining piece into his mouth, and pulled another box towards him to take out one more piece of pastry, this time a chocolate truffle.

They both ate in silence for a while before he spoke again, "Oh yeah! I wanted to ask you something! What were you talking to Mira about yesterday?"

Lucy quickly took a bite of her pastry and took her time chewing over it, all the while avoiding his inquisitive gaze. After a moment, she finally swallowed, and smiled at him, "Oh nothing much. Just about how she'd to arrange everything for Rogue's and Sting's visit as well as prepare for her own wedding."

Natsu hummed in thought, "Mira sure has it rough now-a-days, huh?"

Lucy sighed, "I know. It's a good thing Lisanna's been helping her. I offered, but she said they would be fine."

Natsu nodded, pushing the now empty plate away from him and stretched languidly, "That was some good stuff! Where did you get it from, anyway?"

"Hmm...the butterscotch ones were from The Bake Shop by the canal near the city centre, and the truffles are from Cakes and Bakes near our guild. There's also a fruit pastry that I bought from Zing's Desserts."

"You sure went around town. So, where did you decided we'll have this meeting?"

"Well, I liked Zing's ambience and the outdoor sitting area- Wait a second! What do you mean _we_?"

Natsu arched a brow at her, his arms behind his head, "We meaning you and I, and Rogue."

Lucy blinked at him in incomprehension, causing Natsu to roll his eyes at her, "You didn't really think I would let you go alone, did ya?"

The stellar mage suppressed an irate groan; she'd just thought they were past the argument, instead they were back to square one. She levelled him with a stern glower, ignoring his scowl in return to her expression, "Natsu, I'm going to do this alone. I _have_ to do this alone!"

The Salamander glared fiercely at her, his scowl deepening and his voice seething as he ground out, "No fucking way, Luce. Either I go with you, or you don't go at all."

Lucy took in a deep breath, both to calm herself down as well as to stop from blurting out words that would lead them to another big fight. She instead relaxed her pose and brought a placating tilt to her lips, her eyes earnest and her tone soothing, "Natsu, please understand. This would work best if I went alone, since it directly involves me. It's something I and Rogue have to sort out alone, your presence might only make him feel more uncomfortable and guilty than he's already bound to be feeling."

"He'll understand!"

"He doesn't have to, Natsu. Please? Let me do this on my own?"

Natsu finally wavered under her pleading eyes, pouting slightly as he gave in, and she silently celebrated the victory, "Cheh! Fine. But remember I'll only allow it just this once!"

Lucy beamed at him, ignoring the small prick at her heart for keeping him in the dark about her plans to meet up with the shadow dragon slayer more than once, but in a different setting. She instead jumped to her feet and took his face in her hands, before placing a quick peck on his cheek, "Thanks Natsu! Thank you for understanding!"

She didn't notice the slight pink tinge of his cheeks as she turned around and started collecting the used utensils before bringing them to the sink. Natsu cleared his throat before he too stood up and made his way to her, "Lemme do that! Go take a nap or somethin', you look so exhausted."

Lucy smiled at him widely, "Thanks Natsu. So, you staying?"

Natsu smirked at her, his eyes sparkling in mischief, "Miss me that much, huh? Don't worry, I ain't going anywhere!"

Lucy laughed in happiness at his words, "I did miss you, dork! And now that I think about it, where's Happy?"

"He's on another date with Carla."

"Then things went well last night? I'm glad! I guess I'll just put these pastries away in the fridge. He'll no doubt want his share when he comes here." She made her way to the table again and collected the items, before walking over to the fridge.

Natsu snorted, giving one final greedy look at the box as it disappeared behind the fridge door, "Well he better come quick, or I might just eat all of them!"

Lucy giggled at his insatiable stomach, before patting his arm and making her way to the bedroom to take a quick nap.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey Natsu! What's up?"

Natsu looked up from his Fire Pasta towards the silver-headed mage coming his way, and greeted her with a small smile, "Hey Lisanna. Nothing much, just eatin'."

Lisanna tilted her head in question, her eyes shining with concern, "What's wrong? You seem down."

The Salamander shook his head slowly, "Nothing really. Just..."

Lisanna already knew what ailed her friend, but wanted him to vocalise it before she talked to him about it. Today was the day Lucy was meeting Rogue, their guests having arrived late last night and stayed over at master's house as arranged. Then this morning, Lucy and Natsu had arrived together at the meeting time, and after brief pleasantries, she and Rogue had walked off to her decided destination for...whatever the request was.

It had been heart-wrenching to watch Natsu morosely look after her as she made her way to the guild doors, his eyes bright with careful trepidation. Lisanna had frowned then, wondering why he'd worried about the blonde mage going with Rogue, unless he knew about this being sort of a first date for the two mages.

She wondered if he'd finally realized his feelings at seeing the two of them together.

Sting had wasted no time in engaging the fire dragon slayer in a conversation that mainly involved him challenging Natsu to a fight which, to the surprise of everyone present, the Salamander repeatedly ignored. Some of the guild members had outright fainted, while others had commented about the world seemingly coming to an early end.

Gray and Erza had clocked him in the head out of righteous concern, having felt the creeps at his behaviour, and immediately Natsu had started a brawl with the two, gleefully joined in by Sting.

Only Mira and Lisanna had exchanged knowing looks, the older Strauss having had told her everything of Lucy's request and Natsu's apparent lack of interest on the same night as their conversation with the stellar mage.

"Is it about Lucy?"

Natsu sent her a wary glance, "How'd you know?"

"It's obvious really. You've been down in the dumps since she left."

The dragon slayer sighed, a wry smile breaking out on his normally joyful face, "Obvious, huh?"

Lisanna hummed in thought, deciding to push him a bit further, "What worries you, really?"

Natsu frowned, his eyes travelling to the guild entrance of their own volition, "Rogue is a good guy and all, but..."

"Are you jealous?"

"Come on, Lisanna! They're not like that, so I don't have any reason to be jealous this time!"

 _This time._

Lisanna blinked at her pink-haired friend, feeling dazed at his open confession. The question she had decided to ask next to push him towards a realization of his own feelings had been on the tip of her tongue, something that she herself so direly wanted, _needed_ to ask, but all of that went out the window with his sure statement regarding his jealousy when it came to the stellar mage. Her brain fumbled around to form a coherent thought, and when it finally did start to think straight again, she hesitantly asked, "You've been jealous before?"

Natsu snorted disbelievingly, "You have no idea! I mean, look at Luce! Men are throwing themselves at her feet wherever we go, asking her on dates and shit, and it's a good thing she just blows them away, cos otherwise I don't know what I'd do to those flirty bastards!"

Lisanna gulped heavily as the realization struck her, "So, you're like her, _that_ way?"

"No, Lis. I'm head over heels in love with her. Although even 'love' comprises too little a meaning to completely define what I feel."

Lisanna promptly stumbled down the bench she was sitting on, looking absolutely stunned at his confession, and he frowned, "What? I thought you said it was obvious."

She didn't mean _that_!

Oh Mavis! Lucy had been so wrong! And now she was on a date, well sort of, and Natsu was going to kill her sister for setting it up in the first place and-

"It's a good thing it's not that obvious to her, though, even with all my efforts to make it so at first."

Lisanna paused in her rampant thoughts, taking note of his mordant smile and blank eyes. She slowly stood up from the ground to sit back beside him, her eyes watching him with unease, "Why?"

Natsu looked away for a moment, sending a fleeting glance towards the guild doors in hope that his partner might return soon from her meet up. He didn't know what to say to his silver headed friend, or rather, how to say it. Natsu knew Lisanna would just call him a straight idiot for thinking like that, but really, it's not like he didn't have valid concerns.

How was he to say that the reason he didn't confess to the stellar mage was because he was worried about him waking up one day as E.N.D. and hurting her?

Or the fact about how a demon like him, a creature of darkness, didn't deserve to love someone like her, a light in the blackest of times, _his_ light.

Natsu knew of Lucy's attraction towards him, had watched it develop with his eyes as his heart hoped for her to share his feelings, and was ecstatic when she was finally as deeply into love with him as he was with her. Of course, as he'd mentioned, love was a derivative term and what he felt for her was so much more chaotic and serene at the same time, and everything had a deeper, more profound meaning for him when it came to her.

He loved as a Dragon would, and there was nothing more certain and intense in this world than a Dragon's love.

Natsu supposed he had unconsciously chosen her as his mate from the moment he had brought her to Fairy Tail, but in his naivety and childish abandon, he hadn't realized what it meant. All he knew was that he had to be close to her, always and no matter what.

Then the Eclipse Gate happened, and the one thing he held more precious than perhaps even his nakama was killed right before his very eyes, and he hadn't been able to stop it.

Seeing her lying there, covered in blood, her warm brown eyes closed to the world, to _him_ , had suddenly forced everything he was feeling and the reason behind it into clarity. He'd never felt more desperate than he had in that moment to make sure his Lucy, the _living_ Lucy, stayed safe and alive. His heart had thundered in hatred for the man responsible, and he'd almost committed a sin by allowing Ultear to kill the innocent Rogue of their timeline.

Almost. He'd mourned the Future Lucy lying unmoving on the floor, and in a moment of lucidity in his grief about how he wouldn't deserve her if he did what was obviously wrong, he'd reverted Ultear from the idea of killing Rogue.

Rogue.

To say Natsu didn't feel comfortable about letting her go with the shadow dragon slayer alone, where he couldn't protect her, was an understatement. His heart was beating away furiously in his chest in anxiety, his instincts were in an uproar, and every moment he felt the urge to just rush after them and stick to her side, no matter how much she'd scold him for it or how uncomfortable it made the shadow dragon slayer.

He'd promised to protect her future afterall.

The man, or rather his future self, had killed Lucy, and who's to say this Rogue wasn't on the verge of doing the same. Perhaps it was an unreasonable thought, given how he himself had rationalised that this Rogue couldn't be held responsible, and that as long as the event that triggered the change was prevented, he wouldn't turn into the Future Rogue. And Natsu had already stopped it from happening.

His mind understood there was nothing to be anxious about, but his heart disagreed.

He supposed his protectiveness of her had taken an overt nature following the incident, and after that, no matter what, she had taken a priority in his life, both his realization of his feeling and her death bringing the need to always have her in his line of sight to new heights.

Natsu knew that he had failed her and almost lost her again during the fight with Tartaros. But somehow she'd been the one to save them all. He knew she had done it, but one way or another he hadn't been able to ask her how and what exactly had happened when the rest of Fairy Tail had been stuck because of Alegria. However, their fight a few days back had hinted to the possibility of there being something really excruciatingly painful that she'd been hiding regarding it, and he'd wanted to ask her to tell him until she did; he had thought she'd bring it up when they made up, but she hadn't. Natsu didn't know if it was unconsciously forgotten, or deliberately avoided, and he hadn't had the heart to ask her especially when they'd just resolved their earlier fight..

He decided to ask her again later, since it was obvious she'd never bring it up herself.

He himself hadn't explained to her yet of his need for that year away for training. After Tartaros and coming to know of the existence of E.N.D., after Igneel had died, Natsu had decided that he needed to get stronger as well as find a way to defeat not only E.N.D., but Zeref and Acnologia as well. He'd thought about taking Lucy with him, he really had, but he knew she'd be safer here at Fairy Tail with their nakama, rather than with him, especially with the risk of him encountering Zeref or Acnologia on the journey.

He hadn't known she would be absolutely vulnerable after he left when Fairy Tail disbanded.

Natsu had been shocked about it when Lucy had told him after his return, but he had been more stunned about the fact that she'd gone unprotected for a whole damn year without his knowledge. He was upset at his nakama for leaving her alone and defenceless for such a long time, and angry at himself for letting it happen in the first place; the thought that if something had happened to her during that time, there would've been no one to defend her or no way for him to know had chilled him to his very core.

He'd immediately regretted the sudden whim he'd had of leaving, and thanked every God he knew that she had stayed safe and alive during that blasted year.

He'd yet again come close to breaking his promise.

Natsu had seen how the loss of their shared family had broken her heart, and how desperately she'd been searching for their nakama, and had decided that Fairy Tail wasn't done yet; he'd bring the guild back together, for her sake and all of theirs.

And after he had done that, he'd make her his.

But all that had taken a back burner with Alvarez and the Spriggan Twelve, as well as his discovery of his own origins.

Being the younger brother of the world's most powerful dark mage was a horrible thing in itself, but also finding out that he was the E.N.D. he so desperately wanted to defeat was more devastating than anything. His existence depended upon nothing but a book, and he had only been brought back to life as a demon to end the life of his own creator, and lose his own life in the process.

Zeref had finally succeeded in breaking his life apart, and this time there would be no recovering from it.

Or so he'd thought.

Again Lucy had been the one to save him, all of them really, when she literally re-wrote his entire existence and saved him from a horrible fate. Zeref had been defeated, but he had stayed alive; Acnologia had been killed, and he'd ended up Dragon King, again all thanks to her and her brilliant mind.

Everything had been settled, danger passed, and their family had come out of it all almost unscathed. Everyone had celebrated, everyone had applauded him for defeating Zeref and Acnologia, and no one had really cared that he was a demon, that he was E.N.D. who could one day snap and go crazy and harm them.

No one cared a bit about that fact, but Natsu never forgot who he really was.

And now that he knew, how could he ever think of himself as deserving of her love? How could he even expect her to love him?

Lucy did love him though, that had never changed, nor had his own feelings for his partner. But he had already decided there could be nothing between them, even though she was his life, his light.

His soulmate.

He would keep his promise of protecting her future and of forever together, but he'd do it as her best friend, her partner, her nakama. And if one day she fell in love with someone else and moved on, he'd give her his blessings and encouragement with a smile on his face.

No matter how badly it broke him, hurt him.

Destroyed him.

"Natsu?"

He focussed again on the take-over mage patiently waiting for his answer, her eyes watching him in concern. He gave her a small smile as his looked away again, "I'm a demon, Lisanna. I don't deserve her."

He had not been expecting the sudden whack to the head or her frowning face and tearful eyes.

"You _stupid ass_ dragon slayer! How could you think that way?" She berated, a finger continuously poking him in the chest, "How could you disrespect her feelings, her loyalty by just jumping to the conclusion that you're unworthy even without talking to her? Lucy loves you, _god dammit_ , and you being a demon is the last thing she cares about, you _dumbass_!"

Natsu stared at her in shock, his mouth hanging open at her outburst. But he recovered at the mention of Lucy loving him back, and glowered at her with a frown, "She doesn't care about it, but I do. What's to stop me from one day waking up next to her as a demon and hurting her in irreparable ways? I promised to protect her, and I intend to keep it no matter what I've to sacrifice!"

"Oh? And you think you can do it when she's busy building her own life and family with someone else?"

"Yes."

His lack of hesitation showed that he'd thought it through, but it irked Lisanna to no end. He was sacrificing the happiness of both himself and Lucy all on a now moot point. He had been a demon, but who's to say he still was one after his book was re-written and destroyed. He had never changed into E.N.D., nor had he showed any signs of turning into the vile creature in the last year and a half since Zeref's defeat; even when Team Natsu had tackled that 100 year quest a few months back and he had fiercely fought and protected, there had been no signs of such change.

Natsu was Natsu.

Lisanna knew that it would be a low blow, and the fact that Lucy hadn't told him about it, but she still wanted to show him exactly how soon it could be that Lucy could move on from him, hoping to bring him to his senses regarding his stubbornness about just watching Lucy from the sidelines as a friend. So she steeled herself for his reaction as she delivered her words with a stern tone.

"Then you don't mind if she falls for Rogue, right? Mira and I found him to be the perfect partner for her to move on with, and so today would be kind of their first date."

To say Natsu was stumped would be an understatement.

Lisanna studied him carefully as his eyes widened at her declaration, the corners of his mouth tugging down in a frown. His eyes suddenly burned with a ferocity that made her a bit wary of his reaction, and she jumped slightly when he laid those eyes on her slightly trembling form.

"What did you do?"

Lisanna gulped away the ridiculous feeling of terror and levelled him with a steady gaze, "Lucy thinks you don't have feelings for her. So she came to Mira to set her up with someone. And Rogue was agreed upon as an eligible candidate." She crossed her arms with a questioning scrunch of her brows, and instilled as much venom in her words as she could, "What? You said yourself that you won't mind if she moved on."

Natsu glowered at her with narrowed eyes, "How was Rogue an option?"

"Does it matter? Point is, she has decided to move forward from you for your seemingly lack of feelings. And to tell you the truth, I support her."

Her temper faltered at the look of utter devastation that crossed him face before he schooled it in to leave behind careful resignation. His shoulders slumped as anger abandoned him to be replaced by a profound misery at the thought of Lucy loving someone else, belonging to someone else.

Having a family with someone else.

He sullenly glanced again at the guild doors, nothing but utter desolation in those eyes, his heart beating away erratically at the mere thought of losing her.

"I thought you're okay with all that."

He'd thought so too.

Natsu wondered where his absolute resolve had gone, when his courage had abandoned him. He'd never felt this vulnerable in his entire existence; if the mere thought of there being a chance of Lucy just being interested in someone else wrought him with such anguish, he shuddered to think how he would cope with her dating the guy, or marrying him, or starting a family with him.

Doing all the things he couldn't, having all the things he couldn't.

All because of his already wavering resolve.

"You still think you can live just being friends with her?"

No. No, he can't. He won't.

His sudden epiphany of the impossibility of him being okay with not being the man she loved, that she married and had a family with, pushed him to jump up from his seat and rush towards the open guild doors. It had already been a few hours since Lucy had left with Rogue, and he was unwilling to give them anymore time together, especially with what Lisanna had told him.

With one last determined grin and a shouted 'Thanks Lisanna' thrown at the youngest Strauss, Natsu ran out of the guild and down the street following the sweet, _sweet_ scent of his mate.


	7. Chapter 7

"Here's your order sir, madam!

"Thank you!" Lucy said to the waiter as he placed their food items on the table, while Rogue gave him a smile.

"Enjoy!" The waiter chirped before walking away.

"Oh, this cocoa smells really good." The stellar mage commented, picking up her mug of Zing's Special Hot Cocoa and taking a generous sip, "I'm glad I chose this."

Rogue nodded, pulling his own mug towards himself and giving it a whiff, "They're well known for this. I make sure to visit here just to have one every time I come to Magnolia."

Lucy chuckled, "I can see why! This is delicious. I think I'm going to get addicted!"

Rogue smiled, "I've never tasted anything quite like it, even in the famous coffee shops of Crocus. There's something just different about how they make it here."

Lucy hummed, "I think it's a little bit of cinnamon and a hint of Arabica coffee seeds that give it the unique taste."

The shadow dragon slayer looked impressed, "I could never tell what it was. You're good at this!"

Lucy laughed, cheeks tainted with a hint of red at the praise, "Thank you, but I'm just saying what I think the taste is. I might be wrong!"

"Well, we can ask the establishment, but I don't think they'll give us a straight answer."

"Maybe they will, they seem nice enough. I bought a pastry here a few days ago, and they gave me two more pieces as complimentary to take home. They said it was because I was a first time customer!"

Rogue frowned softly, his dark head tilting in question, "Oh? Maybe we should've gone somewhere else then, since you've been here so recently."

Lucy shook her head, "No no. Really, I decided on this place because of the ambience, and well..." She slowly placed her drink down on the table and turned careful eyes towards him, "I wanted to make sure you were comfortable when we talked...about Future Rogue."

His eyes widened at her answer, slowly lowering his own mug as his red eyes avoided meeting hers. He gently drew circles in the glass as he lost himself in his thoughts, and Lucy decided to let him have the first word in about the touchy topic, both because she thought it would make him a little bit less nervous as well as because she didn't know how to begin. The shadow dragon slayer had a slight scowl marring his face, the despondent down-turn of his lips a tell-tale sign of his anguish at the issue.

Rogue slowly blinked as his thoughts drifted away, and he turned apologetic eyes towards her, "I'm so sorry."

"Rogue..."

"Lucy-san, there is no excuse for what I...That person may have been from the future, but nonetheless he _was_ me! I just...I cannot even begin to express my regret..."

Lucy gave him a small smile in assurance, "Rogue, there's nothing to be sorry for! Future Rogue's actions were his own, and even if he might have been you from the-"

"Please, Lucy-san. That is not an justification. I...I don't know how I could've stopped it all from happening, but the least I can do now is make it up to you, even if it takes a life-time to do it!"

"But you _have_ stopped it from happening!"

Rogue looked at her incomprehensively, his eyes still shrouded in guilt and sorrow, and Lucy smiled at him, "You've heard about there being multiple futures, right? A person's future is guided by his decision or actions at a point of time in his life. Nothing is written in stone!" She sat up a little at the shadow dragon slayer's keen interest in her elucidation, and continued, "So, by deciding that you would not let yourself turn into Future Rogue and making sure that all that he did wouldn't come to pass again, you essentially changed the future! You've stopped it all from happening!"

Rogue looked hopeful as her explanation ended, perhaps finally finding some peace and reluctant acceptance in her words, but his doubts still soared, "But it has already happened! How could I have-"

Lucy gave him a firm shake of her head, "Those were the actions of a Rogue of some different timeline, where he made bad choices, or perhaps he was forced to make them in his distorted grief." He looked at her curiously at her sure statement, and knowing Rogue knew nothing about how his future self had turned dark, she decidedly continued without revisiting the slip-up, "The Rogue of this timeline is different. _You_ are different. You've resolutely made up your mind to never do those things, never be evil. I don't know how Time and Universe work, but I know for a fact that it would certainly change the past that has yet to happen!"

She gave him an impish smile, "I don't know if I'm making any sense...but that's what I believe. So, you've done nothing wrong, towards me or anybody! You've nothing to apologize for."

Rogue pursed his lips in quiet thought as he took in her words, and Lucy gave him all the time he needed. The explanation about different futures is something she'd come up the moment as he'd apologized, but she knew every sentence rang true. Rogue had essentially changed the future, and therefore the past; so the Rogue sitting in front of her had never done nor will he ever do any wrong.

Natsu had already made sure that the event that turned the shadow dragon slayer never came to pass, and if there had been a possibility of it happening from some other trigger, she believed the repentant and resolute Rogue in front of her now would never let it affect him so adversely.

"I..." He began hesitantly, throwing her a furtive look, "I don't know if I'm absolved of all the guilt, when it comes to you especially. The future me killed yo-...the future you, and that's unforgivable."

Lucy gave him a small smile, "No Rogue. That's something that the Future Rogue and Future Lucy suffered through! The you and I of the present have done nothing to each other, so really, there's nothing to forgive. It may be a bit selfish to think that way, but that's my belief."

He still looked forlorn, and she sighed in mild irritation, "Geez! I'm just itching to kick those two idiots for letting all this slip out! There was a reason we didn't want you to know. This," She waved a hand at his grief stricken and remorseful posture, "is what I wanted to avoid, because it's not right for you to suffer for something that you never did!"

Rogue lightly frowned as he shook his head, "No. It's a good thing that I know, about everything! I already knew about the future me being responsible for the dragons attack, and I was adamant to never let it come to pass again. But I'd thought..." His eyes narrowed in suppressed anguish, "I thought that's all he'd done! I never knew he was... _I_ was capable of killing someone!"

The stellar mage nodded in understanding, "I know it must've been hard to hear and accept, but I still stand firm when I say you've done nothing wrong! And you never will. So please stop feeling guilty towards me, and stop apologizing!"

"But I-"

"Rogue." Lucy started strongly, steadily watching the shadow dragon slayer as his eyes slightly widened at her stern tone, "Know this for a fact that those were two completely different people, from a completely different future. I have never felt anger or hatred towards _you_ for that man's actions. _I_ can understand you stand separately from him, so why can't _you_?" Her eyes slowly took on a gentle facade as his shoulders slumped, and her voice turned placating, "And I'd rather this didn't stand between us, since I'd like us to be friends, Rogue."

She was tempted to add 'perhaps something more' at the end, but held herself back knowing this was not the time, and that it would only serve to push him away, even from a hesitant friendship. Another thing that stopped her was her own reluctance about the whole dating him bit, even if she knew that the shadow dragon slayer was a good choice as any; she didn't want their new found friendship to suffer for her indecisiveness and frank doubts. Rogue glanced at her with inquisitive eyes before he looked away again, the previous frown giving way to a tranquil set of brows as he again thought over her words.

The shadow dragon slayer looked her way again apprehensively, but the hope that had been born now shone brightly in those red pupils, "I still think...I've done nothing yet to really make up-"

"That can be arranged! How about you buy us both Zing's Special Pastry? I've been dying to eat one since we got here!"

Rogue chuckled at the light-hearted lilt of the conversation, nodding slightly at her attempt to change the subject, "Alright." He hesitated for a moment before sighing as a thought came to him, "But, I would like to say something before we..."

"Let bygones be bygones."

"...That. Will you hear me out?"

Lucy nodded, her face dropping any signs of humour at the unexpectedly grave tenor of his voice, "Go on."

"I'm truly, _deeply_ sorry for what I've done to you. Perhaps the actual actions were not mine, but the semantics matter little in face of the true horror of all things that came to pass, that you'd to suffer through. I will forever be indebted to you for your utmost benevolence in forgiving me, and I'll always stand before you in any hardship as your shield and sword." He smiled slightly at her deploring look, and raised a hand to stop her from speaking, "It may perhaps never make up for all the things I've done, nor will it reduce my guilt and grief over my future self's actions, but maybe it will help us begin a friendship that you desire, as well as help me accept your forgiveness in time."

The stellar mage bit her trembling lip in thought; she didn't know whether to accept his hand in friendship on his terms, or again drill into him about his absolutely unnecessary guilt till he gave in. Perhaps she should give him atleast this leeway and, as he'd put it, slowly help him heal and come over his own guilt; she knew she's the only one who could do it, given that his supposed sin was related to her future self.

Lucy smiled widely as she nodded in acceptance, laughing slightly when he imitated a whoop and got up to get the pastries, "Rogue, wait! You could just ask our waiter to get it for us!"

Rogue shook his head with a smile, "I'd rather get it myself, since I also want to buy some for Frosch and Lecter."

Lucy nodded in understanding, smiling at the thought of the two extremely cute exceeds that had accompanied the two dragon slayers for this visit; they had planned on going fishing with Happy, Lily and Carla. She sighed as he disappeared inside the quaint shop, her mind wandering again to Mira's pros and _pros_ list. Indeed, Rogue was every bit a gentleman and an entirely good person, in heart and mind, and soul. It was difficult now, after having talked to him, to even imagine him being capable of things that Future Rogue had done; she wondered if this Rogue was even capable of turning into his psychopathic counterpart no matter how much grief and anguish he suffered.

She knew she was right then, to conclude them being two different people whose only commonality was their shared name and physical appearance. Future Rogue had perhaps never been the human being that this Rogue was; he must've already harboured evil long before the triggering event happened. So really, there was no need to think of him as this Rogue's future self, since that seemed absolutely unlikely now.

Rogue could never be evil, because he was exactly like Natsu.

Lucy paused at the errant thought, frowning slightly at the unfairness of comparing Rogue with her partner. Maybe they shared similar characteristics and snippets of personality, like how they're both willing to die for their nakama; how they're immensely kind and held no ill-will towards anyone for longer than was necessary; how they're always ready to help, come hell or high heaven...

How they were both naive...

Oh fuck.

Lucy gulped heavily, gritting her teeth in self-irritation at her thoughts of the two very different dragon slayers, and cursed Mira under her breath. Natsu and Rogue may appear complete opposites like night and day, but they were far too _alike_ than was obvious. Only the people who truly knew the both of them would point out to the similarities, and conclude that Sting didn't share any likeness with the fire dragon slayer other than perhaps his loud-mouthed tendencies.

It was the shadow dragon slayer who was akin to the Salamander of Fairy Tail.

Mira bloody knew, and yet she'd fed Lucy the stupid pros to get her interested in Rogue, when perhaps it was just an attempt to make her realize just how far deeply she was in love with her best friend that _his_ personality and characteristics had become her _type_!

She also cursed herself for not realizing this earlier.

Lucy floundered around in her mind to somehow defend her choice of Rogue as a potential dating partner. Well, it was made clear that Rogue is smart, whereas Natsu...wasn't?

Maybe Natsu wasn't book smart or that knowledgeable about things in general, and he may even seem stupid from him reckless and act-first-ask-questions-later attitude, but he most certainly was not an idiot; the proof being the tact he showed in tricking her in becoming his partner, or the numerous strategies he came up with for many of their fights with the enemies...

So they were both smart; in different senses, but smart all the same.

Shit.

She again grumbled under her breath, before reasoning to herself that she need not compare them at all. Natsu was Natsu, Rogue was Rogue. They may share some similarities, but by no means did she know Rogue enough to conclude that he was exactly like Natsu.

They may turn out to be absolutely different, except some qualities that were the same, the qualities that really, _really_ mattered to her...

Lucy suppressed a groan, willing the thoughts to leave her before the shadow dragon slayer returned. She didn't want him to see her being all agitated and disturbed, lest he mistake it to have happened because of him and their conversation.

She believed he had felt enough guilt over her for a lifetime, just like Natsu.

 _Dammit!_

The stellar mage frowned deeply, cursing herself for even making the comparisons and promising a slow, _painful_ death to Mira when she got to the she-devil. This was all her fault, dammit! So much for her trying to move on!

 _Lucy!_

Lucy startled slightly as she gasped, eyes widening in surprise and looking around her in shock and curiosity. She was sure she'd heard her name being spoken, but wasn't quite clear on where it came from, nor did she recognize the voice. The other patrons eyed her suspiciously as she glanced at each of them, all the waiters and waitresses busy taking orders. The one assigned to their table caught her eye, and he smiled as his head tilted in question, but she shook her head slightly to deter his advance towards her. She relaxed somewhat in her seat as nothing of notice came to her attention, and she turned back to the table to await Rogue.

 _LUCY!_

Okay, that definitely wasn't her imagination!

The stellar mage scowled as she slowly stood up from her seat, her eyes again roving around the shop's outdoor seating and to the pedestrians on the street nearby. Was someone playing a prank on her? Was it-

A sudden shout and a disturbance down the street drew her attention and she briskly walked towards the entrance gate to see what was going on. Someone she couldn't make out was hurrying up the pathway, roughly pushing anyone who got in the way, and people were starting to get agitated at the brusque treatment. She was about to walk out the gate when she noted something that stopped her short with a heavy gasp.

The pink blob of hair that unmistakably belonged to her partner was visible above the throng of people, and she could make out his face as he drew closer to where she stood.

"LUCY!"

She gasped again as she was finally able to make out his voice, her surprise at his rush towards finding her stilling her on her feet. Her eyes widened when he finally noticed her standing, a wide smirk breaking out on his handsome face that forced a shiver down her spine and her knees to tremble with suppressed desire.

 _Why_ was he here?!

"..Na...Natsu?"

The Salamander slowed to a walk as he neared her, his smirk turning to a grin at her flabbergasted look. He stopped a few feet short from her, a thin sheen of sweat making its way down his temple and disappearing beneath his chin. Lucy found it difficult to focus on his face in her disbelief and surprise, and she reflexively took a step back when he again moved to stand closer to her than before.

Natsu didn't say anything, his grin slowly dropping away as his eyes roved over her with that look that he got that made her want to do sinful things to his hard and hot body and-

Suddenly, there was no distance between them, no sliver of space, as his lips landed on hers in a searing kiss and his arms wound around her in a burning embrace. His hands languidly made the trek from her back to her waist to her hips, where they invariably settled as they pushed her closer to him; his tongue urgently licking her lower lip in askance for entrance. A low growl reverberated against his chest as he hungrily devoured her mouth when she inertly parted her trembling lips, his hands again starting the slow trail back up to her waist.

So _that's_ what the look meant.

Lucy slowly closed her eyes as her short-circuited brain jump started when his scorching tongue battled hers, and she quickly wound her arms around his shoulders to lose her fingers in his pink locks; her thoughts were far too jumbled to make any sense, and she was too lost in his lips to really care. He again growled when she softly pulled at his hair, one of his hand coming to rest behind her neck and pulling her closer, while the other travelled down her hips to her thigh to heft it up around his waist from where it dangled lazily.

Lucy shivered and moaned at the feel of his fingers rubbing unknown patterns in the skin of her thigh, her leg tightening around his waist and bringing his hips closer to her heat. He groaned loudly when she gently squeezed him, his hand behind her neck quickly moving to the other thigh that held her up and his fingers wound in the flesh as he softly grasped the appendage, fully intent on bringing it up to join its counterpart around his waist.

"Umm...Sir, Madam...This is a reputed establishment and..."

Natsu groaned low in his throat as he reluctantly raised his head from her mouth, but not before giving her a sure peck on her swollen lips. He glowered at the now trembling waiter who'd dared to interfere, still not willing to let the breathless stellar mage out of his embrace, "Fuck off."

"Sir, please...The other guests..."

He trailed off under the dark and heavy gaze of the infamous Salamander and visibly gulped, taking a step back from the pair. Natsu glared at him, then at every person sitting at the cafe with their eyes trained on the two, "I said, fuck off."

Quickly the other patrons stood up from their seats, hastily recovering their belongings and piling out of the gate, making sure to stay as far away as possible from the obvious lovers. The waiting staff quickly shuffled back inside the establishment, the guests sitting inside staring widely at the scene from the glass windows, perhaps wondering if they too should vacate while they could, before the Salamander gave them another hot and heavy show of just how much he adored his girlfriend.

Lucy covered her face with her hands, her breathing still heavy and body still hot; being close to Natsu and his smouldering heat didn't help any. She squirmed slightly in his embrace, only to have his arms tighten around her. She huffed and looked up at him with a pout, hands lightly pushing at his chest, "Natsu! Let me-"

She was cut off again as his mouth descended upon hers for their second kiss, and this time he wasted no time in staking claim inside her mouth. She groaned quietly at the slow decent of his hands to her thighs, her wobbly knees hardly able to keep her up off the ground; she gasped in his mouth when his fingers skimmed the edge of her skirt, his grin against her lips somehow giving her the courage to increase her efforts at pushing him away.

She succeeded minutely, taking the opportunity of his slight distance to turn her face away from his, eyes still shut tight and breathing still heavy; that was a mistake though, as his hungry lips then found the sensitive column of her neck, bringing out a wanton moan from her that caused her to flush even more.

"Na...Natsu, wait!"

Natsu ignored her pleading squeak, a low rumble vibrating against their touching chests as his tongue languidly licked the skin behind her ear; her panting growing heavier at the feel of his hot tongue. She was just about to give up on trying to talk to him and instead enjoy his attentions on her, when a familiar voice spoke with amusement.

"Well, I should say about time."

Her eyes snapped open and she gasped, gaze widening at the shadow dragon slayer standing at the cafe entrance with a sly smirk on his face, and in his hands he carried her favourite pastry. Lucy redoubled her efforts at pushing Natsu away from her neck, which he thankfully did so now with an irritated groan and a resigned sigh, before turning towards Rogue.

"Hey Rogue."

"Natsu-san, this is a pleasant surprise."

Natsu's brow shot up in amusement and the stellar mage squirmed in his arms again, "Natsu! Let me go!"

The fire dragon slayer huffed slightly and loosened his hold, but didn't let her go completely. He instead threw a lazy arm around her waist; Lucy frowned up at his smirk and rolled her eyes. She then addressed the shadow dragon slayer with an apologetic smile, feeling slightly guilty about forgetting him in her...passion.

"Rogue! I'm so sorry about this-"

Rogue chuckled, "Lucy-san, no need for apologies! I'm just glad the two of you finally got your feelings across. We've all been waiting for it to happen."

Natsu grinned widely, pulling the blushing mage closer to him, "Thanks, Rogue. I've been waiting for it to happen too!"

Lucy groaned and lightly swatted his arm, "Natsu! And Rogue, what do you mean by 'all'?"

The shadow dragon slayer smiled as he considered his answer, "Hmmm. Let's see. All of us at Sabertooth, all your friends here at Fairy Tail, everyone at Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus, to name a few."

"That...All of them?"

Rogue nodded, placing the plates on their table and sitting down before taking a bite of the pastry, "Yeah. Especially Sting and I. That's why we readily agreed to Mira-san's plan when she told us about it a few days back. It really did work! And this tastes heavenly by the way, you're right!"

Lucy stilled at his words, Natsu suddenly breaking out in a fit of laughter when he realized how his friends' interference had led them here. The stellar mage growled loudly, causing Rogue to blink at her and gulp audibly at the obvious rage in her eyes.

"What plan?"

Rogue exchanged a quick glance with the still grinning fire dragon slayer before deciding to tell her everything in an effort to save his own hide.

And his pastry.

* * *

Mirajane suddenly sneezed, softly sniffling afterwards with a small frown on her face.

"Mira-nee, you okay?"

The take-over mage grinned at her sister, her eyes reassuring, "Yup! I think someone's talking about me!"

Lisanna rolled her eyes, "All good things, I hope."

"Why would it be anything else? I've only done good towards others!"

The younger Strauss snorted, avoiding Mira's glaring eyes as they landed on her at her noise of disbelief. She sighed and scowled broodingly before turning back again towards the barmaid, "Hey, Mira. You think they're okay?"

Mirajane tilted her head in question, before her eyes lighted in understanding and she smiled comfortingly, "You bet! I'm telling you, Natsu and Lucy will be together by the end of the day!"

Lisanna somehow didn't share her optimism, still having doubts about their plan. Well, Mira's mostly; Lisanna had had little chance of any input.

The older Strauss had told her of her plan on the night of setting Lucy up with Rogue, along with Lucy's wish of moving on. Lisanna had felt angry at her sister for helping that happen, but Mira had then reassured her of never having abandoned the idea of getting Natsu and Lucy together. She'd told her that all of that pros and cons list business was an attempt to make the stellar mage realize her type in men, and also to make her see how that depended upon the fire dragon slayer's personality. Mira also informed her about her plan to involve the Twin Dragon Slayers to get the two together, and Lisanna had expressed her sound doubts and reservations about that.

As usual, her older sibling had ignored her and called up Sabertooth the next day, laying out her motives and wishes in detail. Sting and Rogue had immediately agreed, to their surprise.

"To think it's not just our guild that's been rooting for them! Who knew?"

Lisanna hummed, "True. But, I'm still surprised that Rogue agreed. Sting I can understand, but Rogue..."

Mira nodded, "I didn't tell him exactly how he figured into all of this, especially about my figurative attempt to set Lucy up with him, but as soon as I mentioned wanting their help with Natsu and Lucy, he just agreed! He did mention something about owing them a life-debt, but he didn't ask me for any details or explanations!"

"Weird. But atleast he didn't show any romantic interest in Lucy like Yukino wanted. _That_ would've been bad!"

Mira chuckled and shook her head, "I wouldn't have worried! Rogue has immense respect for Natsu, and he'd never get in Natsu's way. That's why he was perfect for the plan!"

The plan itself was simple enough; to make Natsu jealous and make him realize how easily his denseness and reluctance was going to cost him a perfect soulmate.

"Well, you did your part perfectly too, Lis! Giving Natsu the needed push!"

Lisanna looked away guiltily, a soft frown marring her face, "I still feel bad about it though. I mean, I first thought that Natsu was being dense and stupid, and I didn't have much hope of the plan working at all. But...when I pushed him, he told me of his deepest, darkest thoughts...about how he believed he didn't deserve her because of who he really was, and I was angry." She paused, her blue eyes shrouded in pain and remorse. Mira gently patted her head and Lisanna sighed, "Angry at him, and at myself for thinking so low of him. I'd only planned to make him jealous, but I guess I got carried away in my rage and I ended up sounding vindictive. Sort of."

"But all the same, you were right. Natsu had thought he could live with Lucy being with someone else, your words made him understand how far from the truth that was. That push was needed, otherwise he wouldn't have acted on his feelings, and he and Lucy would've suffered for a long time."

"Even so, he's my friend. After all that he told me, I felt so bad for thinking him foolish for not making a move on Lucy, when in fact I should've talked to him earlier and helped him sort it all out."

Mira smiled comfortingly, her arms wrapping around her little sister's shoulders in reassurance, "But you did talk to him. And helped him in the right direction! Don't feel too bad, Lis. Because of you, now they'll certainly get together."

Lisanna sighed a little and nodded, "I guess, but I still think I should apologize. He's my oldest friend, I can't not say sorry for how badly I thought of him, you know."

The elder Strauss nodded, "I guess that's true."

Lisanna suddenly grinned at her sister as a thought occurred to her, "You know, you should hope Rogue doesn't let the plan slip out to them, especially Lucy, otherwise you're dead!"

Mira gasped in mock outrage, her blue eyes twinkling at the prospect, "They wouldn't! I helped them get together. So they should actually thank me."

"You tricked them into getting together!"

"Semantics, my dear sister!"

Lisanna laughed at her antics, Mira joining her in her mirth, both unaware of the raging stellar mage planning their slow and torturous demise; rather of the stellar mage who would plan something similar, after she wasn't so busy with...other activities, that is.

* * *

 **Not the end! Still two chapters left.**

 **See you soon!**

 **Ciao!**


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